Henry's Story Revised
by Cortexin
Summary: [EDIT AND CONTINUATION OF HENRY'S STORY] Meet Henry, a boy who has found himself living with the Teen Titans, the stars of his favorite Saturday morning cartoon as a kid. Sent to help them and given powers by a being known only as "the Ellimist," Henry faces the difficulties that life as a teen superhero faces. Adventure! Villains! Teenage drama! And Beast Boy thrown out a window!
1. Meeting Henry

**So, this is a revised (read: compressed and slightly edited) version of my story,** _ **Henry's Story**_ **. For those who don't know, I had left it un-updated since the end of January 2015. This is unacceptable. What I'm doing now is taking everything in** _ **HS**_ **and putting it into bigger chapters, and also making a few changes to any mistakes I find. I'm also changing chapter 13 on, but keeping the overall feel of those chapters. There will be obvious parallels, but I'm copying myself, so it's okay. However, I WILL be writing brand-new chapters once I figure out what to keep and what to weed out. This will be a tedious process, so, just bear with me for the next week or two.**

 **That said, thank you for coming back to, or if you've never read my work before, welcome to** _ **Henry's Story**_ **!**

* * *

This is the story of a boy named Henry, who was just a normal kid: a sophomore in high school, a few close friends, and a loving (yet sometimes dysfunctional) family. And, of course, a supporter of a sixth season of the old _Teen Titans_ show. Everything in Henry's life changed forever one day, when his sister ran after a ball…

* * *

Ellie's laughter was the only thing Henry could hear. The little girl had found a new fun thing to do: bounce a ball off of Henry's forehead. Henry, being the nice big brother that he was, let his five-year-old sister do it. It was a warm, sunny June day, and for little Ellie, things couldn't get any better. Bouncing a ball of your big brother's head is actually quite entertaining, and it isn't often for a person Ellie's age to continue something for as long as she had been doing it. Of course, after a while, she grew bored. Henry saw this, and figured he say an idea that had crossed his mind.

"Hey, Ellie! I have an idea for you," Henry called to his sister. "Why don't you make the ball bounce on the ground, and I'll do this," he asked, miming hitting the ball with his forehead.

"O-kay!" replied the little girl. She bounced the green ball down as hard as she could, and Henry head-butted it. The ball went flying, away from their house and out towards the street. Ellie ran after it, laughing. Now, there's one thing that is vital to what happens, and that is that Henry and Ellie live in a house on the corner of a block. On the corner, there are bushes and tall grass, and so it's hard to see what's coming around—or if anything is coming around the corner. Unfortunately for Ellie, this was one of those times. However, Henry had the fortune to be looking in the right direction at the right time. The wind was blowing, and through the gap in the plants Henry saw something that made him start running: the flash of light off of a car bumper. Meanwhile, the ball had come too close to the road for Henry's liking, and Ellie was right behind it. Time slowed as Henry ran. The closer and closer he got to Ellie, the closer she got to the road. A million thoughts raced through his head—would he reach Ellie in time? What happen to him? How would his parent's react? But one thing kept him focused: Ellie. He had to reach her. His legs moved harder and faster than he had ever moved them before. As he reached his sister, he saw the car: black and sleek. The squeal of breaks could be heard. Henry jumped out into the road, pushing Ellie out of harm's way, and braced for impact. Suddenly, all was black.

…..and then all was white, and then, something amazing happened: Henry opened his eyes. Looking around, Henry soon became disoriented. He was standing, but there was nothing around him that he could see—there was only a blackness, with white dots. It was almost as if he were in—

"Space," came a voice from behind him. Henry turned around, but saw no one.

"Who's there?" he asked. "Where am I? Why aren't I dead?" The voice spoke again, deep and full.

"You ask many questions, Henry. I am… the Ellimist. You are nowhere. You are not dead. You didn't die—but your body is crippled. However, I have brought your… soul, yes, that's a good term for you, here. You are needed elsewhere." Henry stood silently, taking in all that he had heard.

"Are… are you God? Or a god?" asked Henry. The voice chuckled.

"No, child, although I see why you would ask. I am merely… gifted. Now, we mustn't dawdle. You have things to do, and people to see. You have a busy schedule, Henry!" the Ellimist laughed.

"What do I have to do?" Henry asked. He was still confused—Ellimist? Not dead?

"Ah, yes… let me see…" said the voice, dragging out the last word. After a moment, the Ellimist spoke. "Yes. You will be sent to a place you've longed to go. You have important things to do. Before you go, let me explain: You live on Earth, in your universe. But there are others—parallel words in parallel universes. Ideas and concepts, people and things, they sometimes cross parallels. Not physically, not usually, but sometimes a reality in one universe will appear as fiction in another. The universes differ in varying degrees—sometimes a minor change, like what you ate for breakfast. Sometimes, very different things happen. In your history, Rome beat Carthage. In one universe. Carthage won. And in another, aliens settled Earth before mankind discovered fire."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Patience. You are going to a world where your heroes exist. You will receive great powers. You alone will learn how to use them. Goodbye, Henry. Have fun!" called out the voice, and suddenly, Henry saw Earth. It was beautiful, the big blue marble. But it stared growing closer. And closer. Henry realized that he was falling. He saw North America. The Earth's dark side was covering the eastern coast, showing the electric grid. It looked… different, especially around New York. No matter about New York, though—he was falling towards San Francisco. He got closer and closer, and saw the streak of flames that were around him. He didn't hurt, although he started noticing that he was getting tired. Very…. Tired…. Once again, in too short of a time period, Henry blacked out.

* * *

Cyborg pulled up an image on the large screen in the Ops room. The other Titans were gathered around, watching the streak burn in the sky.

"What is it, Cyborg?" asked Robin. The leader of the Titans stood nearby, looking over Cyborg's shoulder.

"I don't know, Robin. It's way too small to be an asteroid or meteor. Waaay too small to be a comet," replied Cyborg. The video footage onscreen showed _something_ streaking through the atmosphere.

"Friends, perhaps I have an idea?" Starfire spoke up. "If you remember, I fell to the surface in a fiery streak." The other Titans looked at her.

"Starfire has a point," Raven said, "but we still need to make sure everyone in the city is safe." Robin nodded.

"Right. Raven, you go talk to the police chief and mayor. Everyone needs to stay inside. Starfire, I need you to fly up to the object. Cyborg, stay here and continue monitoring the object. Beast Boy and I will travel to the estimated point of impact. Titans, go!" instructed Robin. Raven disappeared into a dark portal as Starfire flew out the window in a flash. Robin and Beast Boy jumped out the whole in the window left by Starfire. The changeling transformed into a pteranodon and grabbed Robin by the sholders.

Minutes later, Robin and Beast Boy landed on the coast, just outside of Jump's city limits. It was the late afternoon, far different from when Starfire had crashed to Earth. As Robin and Beast Boy waited for the _thing_ to crash to Earth, Robin reflected on that night. The night when the Teen Titans first came together. The night when she ki—

"Robin, dude, you need to hear this," Cyborg's voice came in from Robin's T-Communicator. "Star, tell him."

"Friend Robin, it appears to be a person," Starfire said. Beast Boy sat up.

"Another person falling from space?" asked the green teen. "Man, Jump is just a magnet for dudes falling from the sky!"

"Ok, Starfire, stop following in and come to my position," Robin instructed over the T-Communicators. "Cyborg, Raven, you too." The latter two confirmed. Moments later, Raven and Cyborg came out of one of Raven's dark portals. Cyborg fell out, mumbling something about 'never wanting to do that again' and rubbing his joints. The Titans looked up towards the sky, watching a the burning streak grew brighter and larger. Suddenly, Starfire's voice came on the T-Comm again.

"Friends, please, find somewhere safe to go. It is going to crash soon!" The Titans started to run. A loud sound started to fill the air.

"It's going to hit soon! Get close to me!" called out Raven. She held up her hands, and created a black dome of energy around them. Just in time, too, as just a second later, the object crashed down into the beach. Raven's dome of energy protected the team of teens from the shock wave and debris scattered by the impact. Good for Jump City, however, was the fact that the object was so small that the crater did not affect the city, save for causing disturbance and fear amongst the citiens, still sage in their houses.

When the dust settled, Raven disbanded the energy. Twenty feet away, laying in the newly-formed crater, was a boy. Dark-haired, the boy lay face-down, limiting the ability to determine any other facial features. The Titans walked and flew over to the boy, careful not to trip in the crater. When Robin reached the boy, he turned him over and check his pulse.

"He's still alive," commented Robin. The boy started moving. "Easy there, kid. Relax, I've got you." The other Titans simply watched as the boy who had fallen from the sky began to stir. After a minute, his eyes opened, and he sat upright.

"Where… Where am I?" asked the boy. "Who are you?"

"My name is Robin, and you're in Jump City. You've just crashed into the ground. You fell from space. Mind telling me who _you_ are?" questioned the Boy Wonder. The boy's eyes widened, as if he had realized something unpleasant.

"Robin? Jump City? I…" he started, but then collapsed back down. Robin quickly grabbed his head.

"We need to examine him. He's coming to the tower with us. Starfire, go tell the mayor it's safe again, and that we've taken care of the crash."

The boy awoke again in a hospital-looking room, attached to various tubes and devices. He saw someone standing near him, chanting something unintelligible. They wore a dark blue robe, and he couldn't see their face.

"Where am I? Who are you?" he asked again. The figure stopped speaking and looked at him.

"You are in our sick bay. My name is Raven," the figure replied. She, as the boy realized that it was a she who was talking to him, removed her hood. The boy was in shock; she looked quite… interesting. Her skin was pale, and her hair was a shade of purple he hadn't seen before. Had he? But most interesting about the girl—Raven, she had said—was that she had a small red stone on her forehead. Not that it was weird. The boy had a strange feeling of déjà vu. But there was no way she could look familiar. He had never seen her before. Suddenly, the boy remembered. His name was Henry. He had saved his sister from being hit by a car, only to be hit by the car himself. He had a strange encounter with "the Ellimist," and had fallen to Earth. And he knew that Raven was _not_ real. Wait. What had the Ellimist said? _Sometimes a reality in one universe will appear as fiction in another_ , Henry remembered. This wasn't real. This couldn't be happening. He was NOT talking to Raven from the Teen Titans.

"Well?" Raven spoke, interrupting Henry's thoughts.

"Oh, sorry. My name's Henry."

* * *

"Henry, huh?" commented Cyborg. Henry had since left the medical bay, seeing as though nothing was wrong with him. Currently, he was sitting on the couch in the main room in the Tower, surrounded by Titans either sitting or standing near him. "Got a last name?"

"Stevenson," replied Henry. This was nuts. He must be dreaming. There was simply no way he was sitting on the Titans' couch, talking to the Teen Titans. Yet in front of him, clear as day, were Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy. Henry pinched himself again, and once again he felt pain. Either this was actually happening, or he was in a vivid dream. Perhaps this was a dream he was experiencing in a coma. He _had_ been hit by a car, after all. Dream or not, however, Henry was sitting in Titans Tower, and he was _not_ going to screw it up.

"So, Henry," Robin began, "do you know how you ended up here?"

"Well, I remember… falling. A long fall, and then suddenly, I saw you. You told me I was in Jump City. Then I fainted, I think. It's what Raven told me." Henry rubbed his head, to add emphasis to the fact that he was all sorts of confused. "I woke up again, and Raven unhooked me from the machines, and then here I am."

"Interesting…" muttered Robin, scribbling something into a notebook. "Now, tell me Henry: do you have any sort of powers?" Henry looked at Robin, confused.

"Powers? Like, flying and super strength?" asked the confused boy.

"Yes. Beast Boy can turn into any animal, Starfire can shoot energy out of her fists, Cyborg can—" started Robin, before being interrupted by Henry.

"He can shoot things out of his arm because he's a cyborg, Raven can do all sorts of magic-y things, and you are just really good at martial arts," finished. This earned a strange look from all the Titans, especially Raven. 'Magic-y things?' That's how he described her powers? She would forgive him for now, seeing as that he had just smashed into the ground from space.

"How did you know our powers?" asked Robin. He looked at Henry with suspicion. Luckily for Henry, Starfire spoke up.

"Robin, do the people of Jump City not know our powers? We have protected them for a while." Henry looked at Starfire, silently thanking her.

"Starfire's right," Raven said. "It's unrealistic to think that somebody _wouldn't_ know what we can do."

"Uh, dudes? He came from space. I don't think he's from Jump," Beast Boy said, breaking his unusual silence.

"Point taken, Beast Boy, but that still doesn't answer the question. How do you know our powers?" Robin asked again, a little more forcefully this time.

"I… don't know. I just… knew, Boy Wonder," replied Henry. He realized what he had just said, and was about to say something that would probably gotten him into a deeper hole when red lights began to flash, and alarm began to sound. Immediately, a map of Jump City appeared on screen, with an icon flashing on the screen.

"The Bank of Pérez. Again," said Cyborg, almost as if he expected it. "Why do they always get robbed? It's always that particular bank…" he muttered as he waited for Robin's intructions.

"Titan's you know the drill," said Robin, pressing a button on the wall. A section of the window opened up, letting in a breeze. "Titans, go!" yelled Robin, giving the well-known command.

"What about me?" Henry asked quickly, not wanting to be left behind. Robin stopped, kicking himself mentally for forgetting about Henry.

"We can't leave him, and we can't take him either," Cyborg said.

"I know," Robin said quickly. "Raven, take him along with us. Henry, you will stay out of our way. We don't need any civilians getting hurt. Now, Titans, go!" Starfire grabbed Robin by the shoulders and flew out the window. They were shortly followed by the duo of Cyborg and Beast Boy, with the cybernetic teen being carried by the large green pteranodon that was Beast Boy. Finally, Raven and Henry walked up to the window. Raven summoned her usual disk of energy, but this time made it larger, and added small pole to the part behind her. The pole had handles for Henry to grab onto.

"Try to not fall off," Raven said as Henry grabbed the handles. As soon as he took hold, they flew into the air. Wind rushed past Henry's face. He held on for dear life as he watched the ground beneath him fly past. It was actually quite interesting, as he had never even flown on a plane before. Of course, in a plane, you didn't hang on for dear life as some person from a cartoon piloted a disc of black energy, did you? Henry watched as Starfire held Robin and Beast Boy carried Cyborg through the air. At least he had something beneath him.

"So, Raven," Henry started. "Who do you think it is, robbing the bank this time?"

"Don't talk to me. I need to focus. If I don't, we'll both fall. Well, you'll fall. I could fly," Raven said, looking back to Henry. Then she looked back towards the front, avoiding a large building she almost hit. A minute later, Henry, Raven, and the other Titans landed near a small building. It had a large hole in the wall, and on the inside, one could see a tall, blue person wearing a magician's outfit. Bags of money sat about as the tall person moved about inside.

"Mumbo Jumbo," muttered Cyborg. Robin walked over to Henry.

"Get to safe place. We'll find you when we're done here," the brightly-colored teen leader said. Henry nodded, and jogged a short ways away and sat on a bench, watching the scene unfold. The Titans approached the villain, and what ensued could only be described as a complete butt-whooping. That is to say, within minutes, the Titans had been turned into animals (or, in Beast Boy's case, a lamp) and placed into separate cages. The last time this had happened, they were in Mumbo's hat. Somehow, Mumbo Jumbo had been able to take that power and use it in the real world. Henry looked at the Titanimals—the term Mumbo had used—and sighed. Then he became worried. _Now what am I supposed to do?_ He wondered. Suddenly, the voice of the Ellimist filled his mind. _USE YOUR POWERS._

"I don't have any," Henry argued aloud. Luckily for the boy, no one was around to hear him. To his surprise, Henry's head filled with images. Images of him doing crazy things appeared to him. Shouting, with shock waves coming out of his mouth. Electricity flying out of his fingertips. Many other things appeared in Henry's mind, and he was amazed by it. The Ellimist's voice spoke again. _YOU CAN MANIPUALTE ENERGY, HENRY. WILL ENERGY TO FLOW AND TRANSFORM, AND IT WILL OBEY. HOWEVER, YOU WILL TIRE MORE QUICKLY THAN THE OTHERS. NOW GO!_ Henry ran towards the bank. Mumbo was waving his wand around, messing with the Titans in their cages.

"And now, for my next trick, I will need a volunteer!" laughed the magician. "How about you, Robin?" Mumbo opened Robin's cage and placed handcuffs around Robin's monkey wrists. The traffic light-colored monkey protested in hoots and hollers. Evidently, the Titan's couldn't speak outside of Mumbo's hat if they were animals. The cat that was Starfire, bear that was Cyborg, and rabbit that was Raven all made noises. The lamp that was Beast Boy flickered on and off.

"Stop right there, Mumbo!" Henry called out. Mumbo stopped what he was doing and looked at Henry.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" the large-nosed supervillain asked. "A friend of yours, Titans? Or maybe just a dumb bystander. Silly boy, you should know better than to mess with Mumbo the Magnificent!" With a flick of his wrist, Mumbo shot a blue bolt of energy towards Henry. _Alright, Henry, you can do this,_ thought the boy. He pictured the bolt of energy flying towards him, missing him and curving back towards Mumbo. To his amazement, the blue streak curved around Henry and flew back towards Mumbo's hand, knocking the wand right out of it. Meanwhile, Robin began to slowly walk away from Mumbo, and started to get behind him.

"Ooh, well done, boy! That was a marvelous performance. But now, it's my turn to shine!" called the magician, and out of his sleeves appeared a deck of cards. Mumbo began throwing them at Henry. The boy jumped out of the path of the cards, and tried to think of something else. Of course, he couldn't stay still for too long, as more cards began to follow him. He ran behind the cages that held Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy. The cards flew over the cages and down towards him, not doing what he expected them to do. Mumbo laughed as Henry started running again. _Think, Henry, think!_ He thought. Then he saw Robin, sneaking up on the magician. Despite the odd sight of a masked, costumed monkey sneaking up on a magician, Henry knew what Robin was doing. He needed to buy the leader of the Titans more time.

"Hey, Mumbo!" Henry called out. "Is that the only thing you can do, or are you out of ideas?" The taunt worked. Mumbo stopped throwing cards.

"Nope! I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve!" yelled the blue magician, as more cards began to fly out his armholes. They flew towards Henry, and then stopped as Mumbo cried out. Robin had jumped on Mumbo, and put the handcuffs around the supervillain's neck. He pulled back, forcing Mumbo to focus on getting Robin off of him. Henry took this opportunity to grab the wand that Mumbo had dropped. He held it in his hand, and pointed it at the Titans still in cages. Four blue bolts of energy similar to the one Mumbo had shot at Henry came out and struck the Titans, turning them back into their normal forms. It wasn't long until Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy had busted out of their cages.

"Thanks, dude!" Beast Boy said. "Man, I hate being a lamp."

"Why?" Cyborg asked. "It's not light you get any brighter." Henry chuckled at that, but then turned the wand on Robin, who was still struggling with Mumbo. Fortunately, the bolt hit Robin, and he turned back into his normal self. Henry and the other Titans surrounded the magician, whom robin had managed to pin on his stomach while handcuffed.

"Don't worry Mumbo," Robin taunted. "Your performance isn't over. You have an encore—in jail."

"But that's not fair!" complained the beaten Mumbo. Minutes later, a police vehicle showed up to bring Mumbo Jumbo to jail. Robin was un-handcuffed, and the first thing he did was shake Henry's hand.

"Thanks for helping out back there," Robin said. "You really saved our butts back there."

"No problem, Robin. Glad to have been there," replied Henry. Inside, he was freaking out. He had powers. He had fought Mumbo Jumbo. He had saved the Teen Titans! Henry was fangirling so hard it was a surprise that he wasn't shaking.

"So… now what?" asked Henry.

"Well, we have two options," started Raven, not liking where it was going to end. "Option one: we go back to the tower. Option two..." Raven offered, allowing herself to be interrupted. She knew what was next.

"We go for pizza!" Cyborg and Beast Boy exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yes! I can get the mustard!" Starfire said just as excitedly. "Oh, Robin, may we please go to the pizza place?" she asked, her eyes growing large and lower lip quivering. Robin took one look at Starfire, and his will dissolved.

"Fine. Let's go get some pizza…" Robin said, defeated. He hung his head as the three Titans cheered.

"Thank you, Robin!" cried Starfire as she crushed Robin suffocated. As the Titans left for the food, Henry helped Robin up.

"She has you wrapped around her finger," Henry said, laughing softly.

"No she doesn—yeah, she does. Come on, join us. It's our way of saying thank-you," Robin replied, still a little red in the face. "You've earned it." As the two walked behind the other four Titans, Robin withheld his thoughts. He still wasn't too sure of Henry. He figured that Cyborg's test would yield results by the time they returned to the Tower. _Who are you really, Henry Stevenson,_ wondered Robin. _And why are you here?_

* * *

 **So, that's the revised Chapter One, formerly chapters 1 & 2\. Hopefully, it's still good. I'm open to suggestions on anything, but a large bulk of what is going to be published has already been written. Eventually, I'll be able to incorporate viewer suggestions, and look forward to that point! I expect that will be around chapters 6 or 7, depending on how I divvy up existing work and how I add new material. Thanks for your support, and please note that if you have questions, comments, concerns, or anything to say to me at all, please review or PM me directly. ****_Constructive_** **criticism is always helpful and appreciated. Thank you for your time, and, as I always put at the end, have a fan-freaking-tastic day!**

— **Cortexin**

 **EDIT 1 Added lines breaks (because I'm an idiot and forgot) and fixed a few spelling errors that I happened to see.**


	2. Becoming Friendly with the Titans

**Hello, and welcome to the second chapter of** _ **Henry's Story Revised**_ **. I'll be using HSR as an abbreviation. Thanks for coming back, since if you're here, you must have been interested enough in the story from chapter 1 to continue on. I appreciate that a lot! So, this was originally chapters 3 and 4 of the original. Very few changes here—if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So, I hope you've had a wonderful day so far, and if not, maybe this will cheer you up. On with the show!**

* * *

When Henry and the Titans arrived at the pizza place, the first thing that happened was the initial swarm of fans. A dozen or so people jumped out of their chairs to say "hi" to the heroes, or to ask them for an autograph. The teens managed to subdue the crowd, and after ten minutes, finally got to place their order. Cyborg and Beast Boy took part in the classic "meat-vs-veggie" debate that the others had grown accustomed to. Meanwhile, Robin ordered the pizzas while Starfire, Raven, and Henry found a spot for everyone to sit. They settled on a medium-sized booth, and sat down.

"Henry," Starfire said once Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy joined them, "where do you come from? Surely you cannot be the alien, like I am."

"Yeah, man, where are ya from?" Cyborg asked." Henry didn't answer for a moment. He couldn't just say _oh, I got sent here from a parallel universe by a weird voice-thing called the Ellimist._

"I... I don't know. I all I remember this voice talking to me, and then falling." Henry looked at the others, trying to look confused. Only Raven and Robin knew he was lying, but the two didn't say anything. They merely looked at each other momentarily, each recognizing that the other realized it too.

Most of the next hour was spent chatting casually, with Henry merely absorbing everything around him. Robin and Starfire kept mostly to themselves. Raven sat quietly save for a snide comment only half-muttered when Beast Boy mentioned how funny he was. Cyborg and the changeling kept Henry occupied, with the three discovering that they had a lot in common. Henry and the two Titans all enjoyed video games, pranking, and all-around acting stupid when they were bored. Cyborg didn't like the being stupid bit so much, but he kept quiet. It was nice to have another person to talk to-he always enjoyed hearing another person's opinions. When the pizzas arrived, the teens dug in. They _had_ just fought a supervillain, after all. Fighting crime certainly gave one an appetite. Raven hadn't been able to grab a slice, and so as Beast Boy grabbed two slices of the pseudo-Italian food, a piece in his hand suddenly glowed black and moved away from him.

"Hey!" the green teen complained, "That's cheating, Raven!" The empath's mouth was full of pizza, and so she didn't reply. It wasn't often she consumed much other than her tea, but pizza was pizza. None of the Titans would give up a chance at pizza. Raven was merely reserved about it. When the pizza came down to one slice, the Titans and their guest eyed the food hungrily. The last slice of pizza was considered a treasure. Beast Boy was certain that it was good luck to get it.

"Alright Titans, you know what we need to do..." Cyborg announced as he pulled out a spinner. He placed it on the table and gave a quick spin. The spinner went around and around, with each of the Titans crossing their fingers. Mutters of "please be me" went on until the spinner started to slow. It looked like the spinner's arrow was going to stop on Beast Boy. Henry had a sudden thought, and acted on it. Willing a little more energy into the spinner, it moved past Beast Boy to complete an extra quarter of a turn-pointing towards Raven.

"Aw, man," Beast Boy moaned quietly, as Raven floated the last piece toward her. Cyborg picked up the spinner and put it into some small container on his arm.

"Sorry, grass stain," he said with a smirk,"maybe next time." With that, Henry and the Teen Titans stood up and left, leaving a sizable tip on the table behind them. Robin and Starfire led the group of six towards the island, talking with each other about who-knows-what. Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy tended to let the two be in their own little world whenever they could. Seeing as though it was a bright, sunny day, the Titans walked as opposed to flying back the Tower. Beast Boy and Cyborg were also engaged in conversation, consisting of giving various ratings to the girls they passed on the streets. All of this left Raven and Henry walking next to each other.

"You didn't have to do that," Raven said. Henry immediately felt a surge of... he didn't know what. Guilt? Pride? Embarrassment? He didn't know.

"Do what?" he asked innocently.

"You know what," replied the empath. She mentally rolled her eyes. If this was just another sad attempt by some fanboy to win her affection, then he had another thing coming. Falling from the sky or not, Raven wasn't about to let some idiot drool over her.

"I just thought that since Beast Boy had already eaten half a pizza, maybe someone else should have it," the dimensionally-dislocated teen answered. A few moments went by.

"Thank you," Raven said quietly. The rest of the walk was silent for Raven. She had various conversations going on in her head. Raven's other 'selves, or 'Emoticlones' had started talking. Knowledge wanted to know more about how Henry had survived the crash to Earth. Happy was happy that there was someone new to talk to. Brave wanted to beat Henry up (of course, Brave _always_ wanted to beat someone up). Meanwhile, Henry was busy inside his own mind. He had been in this universe for less than a day, and already he had crashed to the planet's surface, fought and beat a supervillain, and had eaten pizza with the Titans. So far, it was a weird day. Of course, he was worried about Ellie, and what had happened to her. Perhaps she was okay. If that was the case, then Henry would relax. Maybe the Ellimist would say something to him, but for now, seeing as though he had no way of finding out, he simply let it rest. More strange to Henry was the simple fact that he was walking next to _Raven_ , one of the _Teen Titans,_ in _Jump City._ Henry figured that if he looked at a map, he would find Steel City, Gotham, Metropolis, Keystone City, Central City, and all the rest. If Metropolis was real, then that meant...

"Holy chocolate éclairs," Henry murmured to himself.

* * *

When they finally got to the Tower, it was reaching five in the afternoon. The sun had only begun to appear lower in the sky, but it would still be a few hours before the sky grew darker. In that time, while Beast Boy, Henry, Raven, and Starfire were left to themselves, Cyborg and Robin went to the lab in the Tower.

"You have the results, Cyborg?" Robin questioned. It had been on his mind since Henry had been in the Tower's infirmary. Being unconscious, it had been simple to extract a little blood from Henry's arm.

"Yeah, just let me pull it up," answered the cyborg. He clicked a few times, until the test results popped up. Red text appeared on the screen: NO MATCH FOUND.

"Just what I thought," muttered the Boy Wonder. He hadn't expected a positive match. No normal human could survive that fall, or even be in such a position to fall from space in the first place. There was something... different about Henry. Almost as if he didn't belong. Not with the Titans, but perhaps in Jump City.

"So what are we going to do with him?" Cyborg asked, removing the words onscreen. He started making a file for Henry, omitting a picture, the social security number, and other personal information. In fact, the file was pretty much 'Henry Stevenson' and 'Blood Type: O Negative.'

"Well, we can't just send him away," Robin replied. "He doesn't have any anywhere to go, or even a government identity. He doesn't _exist._ "

"He does have powers, y'know," Cyborg offered. "And he does seem to get on with the team pretty well." Cyborg stopped, knowing that Robin understood what he was implying.

"No. At least, not yet. Remember the last time we let someone join the team?" Cyborg shuddered. It hadn't been pretty. Terra had nearly caused Jump City's destruction, although she was under the command of Slade at the time. Still, despite her actions in the end, Terra had been a traitor to the team, and so Robin was concerned about another new Titan. If Henry _was_ going to join, then it would be after a lot of review. And all of the other Titans would have to agree, of course.

"I try not to..." Cyborg said sadly. He hadn't gotten close to the blonde geomancer, but he had seen how much she had meant to Beast Boy, and how much she had hurt him. It was an unspoken agreement between Cyborg and Beast Boy to never speak of it. Or her.

Meanwhile, Raven and Starfire had gone to the roof for meditation. This left Beast Boy and Henry alone.

"So," the green Titan offered. "Ever play _Twisted Wheels 2_?" Henry snorted.

"No. What's that, some sort of racing game?" Henry asked. Beast Boy nearly flipped.

"What do you mean, 'some sort of racing game'?" Beast Boy spluttered. "Have you lived under a rock your whole life? It's only _the bestselling racing game of all time!_ " Henry laughed.

"Sorry, never heard of it. But I'll play," he offered to the panting changeling.

"Alright!" Beast Boy said excitedly. He pulled a gaming console out from a box, and plugged it into the base of the screen in the large room that was the Titans' living room. Turning the device on, Beast Boy handed Henry a controller. Within minutes, Henry and Beast Boy were starting the race. The green-skinned Titan had selected a green-and-purple car to match his uniform, while Henry chose a brown car with green accents, matching his hair and eye colors respectively. The announcing voice counted down on the game.

"Three... Two.. One... GO!" the announcer crowed, and the car's took off, squealing and smoking onscreen. Henry had never played on a screen as large as the one he was using now. But that wasn't what was on his mind at the moment. What was on his mind was the game. Of course, he had never played this particular racing game before. It didn't exist in his world. However, his friend Tyler had been obsessed with racing games, and so Henry had been forced to play through hundreds of hours of various versions of racing. Tyler would always win, but that didn't mean Henry wasn't good. With Beast Boy, Henry struggled to control his car as he learned the controls of the game. It didn't take long to figure them out, but the shape-shifting Titan had gotten a decent lead in that time. However, Henry was gaining on the Titan. The track transformed into a thin, coiling ramp. Henry had almost managed to catch up to Beast Boy's car.

"Oh, yeah, I'm gonna win!" Beast Boy cried out-and that's when Henry passed him. He had saved a small amount of 'boost' and used it to pass the changeling's car. Luckily, the track had flattened out, and the finish line was visible. The two playing started sweating. It had been an intense race, and neither wanted to lose at the last second. The end grew closer and closer, and the green Titan's car sped ahead in the last second. The final times were Beast Boy 3.810 minutes, Henry 3.808.

"Dude," Beast Boy said after winning music played. "Nice race. That was intense."

"Yeah, it was," Henry agreed, and the two shook hands. There was a moment silence, and the two looked at each other. "Race again?"

"You bet!" replied Beast Boy enthusiastically, and the two picked their controllers back up.

The rest of the night went smoothly, with Henry and Beast Boy beginning to form a friendship. (This, of course, would end up being terrible for the rest of the Towers' inhabitants. Pranks would have double—well, triple—the brainpower behind them. The last thing Beast Boy needed was an accomplice). Robin began to outwardly show trust towards the crashed teen, a trick he learned from Batman. Even if he didn't trust Henry yet, and face it—Robin was smart not to trust someone they'd just met, it was his best move to make Henry think Robin did. Cyborg too was wary, but being the optimistic person he was, Henry quickly became a worthy opponent on _Twisted Wheels 2._ Starfire nearly dislocated several vertebrae and ribs with a hug, but that was a given. It was funny to Henry. He had seen it happen onscreen and winced at it, but never had he expected to be on the receiving end of one. As for Raven, the two had only talked twice—once when Henry was in the infirmary, and once when Henry had caused Raven to get the extra slice of pizza. When it came time to sleep, however, an issue arose: where was Henry going to sleep? There was, of course, Terra's old room, but even after all the time that had passed, the room was still a source of bad feelings. This left only two options: the couch, or Beast Boy's room. For health and safety reasons, Henry slept on the couch. Borrowing a pillow from Starfire and a blanket from Robin, Henry plopped down on the couch.

"…and remember, if you need anything, BB's room is the first door on the right after you take the elevator up. It says 'Beast Boy' on the door, so I think you'll find it," Cyborg finished saying.

"Alright, Cyborg, take it easy. Thanks man. G'night," Henry yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Night," Cyborg returned, shutting off the lights in the main room as he stepped into the elevator. Henry closed his eyes, thinking of the day's events. He had been hit by a car, fallen to the Earth, met the Titans, discovered he had powers, fought Mumbo and won (something he still hadn't figured out), eaten pizza with the Titans, played games with Beast Boy, and had nearly been crushed by Starfire's insane Tamaranean strength. Just an average day. _Man, this pillow is freaking SOFT*!_ Henry thought as he yawned again. _No wonder she's so happy. I'd be too if I had this pillow every night._ However, his thoughts didn't last much longer as the veil of sleep overtook him.

In his dream, Henry floated in space, just like he had after being hit by the car. _Not again_ , the teen thought.

YES AGAIN, the voice of the Ellimist echoed in reply. YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN, HENRY.

"Can you please just show yourself?" Henry asked. "It's hard to talk to a voice, after all." In response, a figure appeared in front of Henry as a ground appeared beneath him. He was in his yard, the yard where he and Ellie had played. A man in a black suit formed where the figure was.

"Is this better?" the man in black asked in the Ellimist's voice.

"Umm, yeah, it is" Henry murmured in reply. He was still looking at the yard. Who knew that you could be relieved to see a place as boring as your yard after a mere day of being away from it?

"Henry, I don't have a lot of time to talk, so don't interrupt me," the Ellimist said. "Your battle with Mumbo Jumbo was lucky. He had actually managed to increase his abilities, and yet you defeated him with almost no effort. Why? I helped. I gave you an increase in your abilities today. And I also clouded Mumbo's judgment. It was essential that you gained a positive light with the Titans as soon as you could. However, I cannot interfere as directly as I have. I must proceed in accordance to… certain rules, I might say. It is a much longer story that you are not a part of." Here the Ellimist paused so Henry could process the information. After a moment, he continued. "From here on out you will be much weaker. You will still be able to manipulate energy, but you must absorb it first. You will only be able to store a certain amount, and in the beginning it will be small. It will grow over time, as well as your mastery over your powers. However, you must train. Improve your skill, as the world will need you." The Ellimist's body shimmered. "I must be quick, child, as I have one more thing to show you. It will not be pleasant."

The scene changed, and Henry's yard gave way to a smaller, white area. People gathered around a small bed, with a person in it. Henry recognized the room as a hospital room, and the people were his family. His father, James, tall and proud with his eyes red. His mother, Emily, sitting and holding the person's hand. And finally Ellie, held by her father, unsure of what was happening. It suddenly dawned on Henry that it was _him_ in the hospital bed, hooked up to various IV's and machines. The doctor was speaking.

"…looks like he has several shattered bones on his left side, and spinal damage. Brain scans show that he has altered regions on the left side, and there are signs of trauma in the skull. He is severely injured internally and externally, and I'm sorry to say this, but he may not make it." At this, Emily began to sob. Henry's father moved to set down the daughter and hold his wife.

"Is… Is there anything you can do?" his father asked, holding back tears.

"Yes. All of his injuries, except those in his brain, can be treated while Henry is unconscious. It will be difficult, as his body is in no condition to undergo so many different surgeries and procedure." The doctor looked grim as he told the Stevensons this news. This was one of things he didn't like about his job—telling families that their loved ones might not make it, or worse, didn't.

"If—when—he survives, how will he get better?" Emily asked, her eyes still leaking.

"I'm sorry, but it appears that should Henry pull through, he will be in a coma. His brain patterns suggest he is comatose. It is likely that Henry may never do anything again." Henry—the alright Henry—merely stared at his family, and at himself, barely able to comprehend what he saw. He was covered in bandages, casts, and scabs. He moved to put a shoulder on his father's shoulder, but his hand merely went through it.

"They cannot see us," the Ellimist spoke. "I'm sorry—this is the best that I can do at the moment." Suddenly, the hospital disappeared, and Henry was once again in the empty space, with Earth below. The Ellimist spoke again.

I MUST GO. REMEMBER, YOU MUST TRAIN, HENRY, the being's voice echoed, growing softer and softer until it disappeared. Henry once again felt the sensation of falling, and then suddenly sat up quickly, breathing hard. _What… did I just see?_ He wondered. The sight of his family crying, and of him unconscious in the hospital still played in mind's eye. He shuddered, but not from the cold. It hurt, seeing his family cry like they had been. And the doctor had mentioned him being in a coma. What if this was merely a delusion? Some twisted fantasy his mind created while under extreme distress? However, despite his concerns, Henry lay back down, covered up, and closed his eyes, hoping for calmer dreams. As he fell asleep again, he thought he felt the tiniest trace of something in the back of his mind. Something probing… not that it mattered. In a matter of moments, Henry was asleep again, and stayed that way until the morning.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the dark of Jump City, something stirred. It was not of this world, like Henry, but it had darker purposes. A thug walked down an alley, holding a gun to an older woman's head.

"Just give up the purse and no one'll git hurt," the thug ordered. The woman dropped her purse and screamed. "Just keep quiet, will ya? No one needs to here this!" However, the woman continued to scream, and she raised a finger to point behind the criminal. Stupidly, he looked.

"What the HELL is that!" he yelled, looking at what he saw. A green blob of _something_ had appeared next to the two people. The woman began running, still screaming a high-pitched scream. The criminal began emptying the gun's contents into the thing while backing away from the thing. It continued to advance as the bullets entered the monstrosity's body, having no affect whatsoever on it. The criminal continued to pull the trigger even after it was empty, and in a last-ditch effort, threw the gun at the green pile. It merely absorbed the metal like it had the bullets. The criminal, not looking where he was going, tripped on a bottle that had been left in the alley. Hitting his head, the thug was disoriented for a moment before he remembered where he was. A moment was all that the thing needed. A tentacle of slimed wrapped around the man's leg. He pulled it away, but the tentacle remained firm. The green pile pulled the man closer. Screams echoed throughout the black night.

* * *

Henry awoke to a small light in the kitchen area. He looked out the giant window that was the wall in the Tower. Only the first hints of orange glowed at the horizon. So who could be—Raven. Of course. Henry remembered that Raven awoke first of the Titans. Henry sat up, the sound of water boiling softly coming from near the light. Henry sat up, and looked at his clothes. Still the same maroon T-shirt and khakis he wore yesterday. This gave Henry a thought. _Where am I going to get new clothes?_

"Did I wake you?" came Raven's voice, softer than usual. Henry stood up and walked towards the empath.

"No, no, I usually wake up early," Henry answered. It was mostly true—he didn't wake up this early, but still early. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, yawning. He was still a little tired, but that was fine—a little tea would get him going.

"Go ahead," Raven replied, motioning to the table where she sat. Henry pulled out the seat, but before he sat down, he noticed that there was only one cup.

"If I was a cup in the Tower, where would I be?" asked Henry, examining the different cupboards in the kitchenette.

"The one next to the sink," came Raven's reply. Henry muttered a thanks, then grabbed a small teacup. He walked over and sat down across from Raven. His cup glowed black with a white outline as it floated over to a similary-colored floating teakettle. The kettle tipped and tea filled Henry's cup, and each floated back to their respective place on the table. Raven lifted hers with her hands and took a sip.

"Thank you," Henry said again, lifting his own cup. It felt warm in his hands. A little too warm, so Henry figured that this would be a good way to start trying out his powers. He willed some of the heat energy in the tea to travel into his body. It took a moment, but he felt the cup cool slightly as a warmth traveled from his hands to the rest of his body. Henry took a sip of the tea. It tasted… different**. Perhaps a little minty, maybe a little lemony, and a few other things. He set the cup down.

"So, Raven, what brings you to the kitchen this morning?" asked the teen, half-jokingly. He knew, already, but it was nice for a conversation.

"I always wake up at this time," replied Raven in a monotone voice. That right there gave Henry a weird feeling—it was the 'Raven' voice he always heard whenever he imagined her speaking, be it him remembering it from the cartoon or whenever she spoke in a… story he had read online. He wasn't about to think about the… stories… he had read on his computer, especially not when the subject of them was sitting across from him, sipping tea. "I make tea, then go to the roof to meditate for an hour or two," she continued.

"Oh," was Henry's brilliant reply. He took another sip of his tea, looking at Raven as he did. Her hood was down, revealing her purple hair and red chakra. Aside from the odd color scheme, Raven wasn't half-bad look _Stop it Henry!_ He though angrily to himself. _She's an empathy, she can sense your thoughts!_ While this was true, Raven only sensed conflict within Henry. Nothing unusual, so she dismissed it. "What kind of tea is this? Herbal, yes, but what?" Raven set down her cup.

"It's an attempt to recreate the tea that was served by the monks of Azarath during my years there," Raven replied. Upon seeing Henry's look of confusion, Raven continued. "For most of my young life, I lived in Azarath, where I learned to control my emotions. The monks there have raised me since birth. There's a lot more to my life story, but that's a good summary for an early morning." That was a lot of talking for Raven, considering she kept quiet most of the time. She took another sip of her tea. Henry breathed out, thinking about what she had told him. Not _what_ she had told him, but rather _that_ she had told him. It seemed unlike the Raven he had grown accustomed to watching.

"I suppose I might come clean about my past," Henry started. "It started about… wow, I don't even know when. I guess it was yesterday. My sister Ellie—she's four, cute little thing—and I were playing in our yard." Here Raven raised an eyebrow, at the word playing. "What? I'm a big brother. Anyway, she had this ball she loved, right? And she was bouncing it. Well, I got the idea to headbutt it when she bounced it. So she bounces it, and I hit it with my forehead. It goes flying, and Ellie chases it, laughing. Now, I watch her, but for a second I look away, and what I see is a car. It's still a decent ways away, but it's moving fast. And Ellie is too close to the road for my liking, so I start running. The car gets closer and closer to Ellie, and I keep getting closer and closer to her, and when I get to the road, she's in the middle going after that ball, and I jump and hear tires squeal, and—" Henry stopped talking. He couldn't bring himself to say the next words. "Suddenly, I'm floating in space. I can't see anything, when suddenly this _voice_ starts talking to me. It says that it is 'the Ellimist' and that I'm needed in this world. He—I think it's a he—also said something about fiction in one universe being reality in another." Henry paused to take a long sip of tea. This was insane—he was telling everything that had happened to him within the last _day._ "Where I come from, you guys… the Teen Titans…. even Jump City…. are fictional. For goodness sakes, I watched you guys on TV. You were a _cartoon_ , based on a comic book series. You had _voice actors_ , who sound exactly like how you sound!" Henry placed his head on the table, and softly pounded the top of it. "I just—" pound "don't under—" pound "stand!" He sat back up. "Sorry Raven. I needed to get that out."

"I understand. Pent-up emotion can cause a lot of distress. It's good to let it go," Raven commented. Not that she could do like Henry did—half of the Tower would be in orbit if she let loose like Henry did. The boy wiped an eye.

"Thanks for putting up with this," Henry said. A sound surprised Henry, a _whoosh_ , but it was merely the elevator doors. Out stepped Robin, wearing his colorful uniform.

"Morning Raven, Henry," he greeted sleepily. Raven and Henry watched as Robin started a pot of coffee. Raven stood up.

"I'm going to the roof if you need me," Raven announced, then disappeared through a black portal in the ground. Robin looked over at Henry.

"Rough night? You look like you had a bad dream," the Boy Wonder commented.

"Yeah," Henry sighed. "I kinda did."

"Need to talk about it?" asked Robin. This would be a good way to connect with Henry, get him to trust Robin. Robin was still unsure of Henry, but that was realistic. Thoughts of Terra wandered through his mind, but he dismissed them. Hopefully, this time would be different, but until Henry proved otherwise, Robin would have to stay wary.

"Yeah, but give me a moment." Henry breathed in, then out. It was going to be a long day if he had to tell _all_ the Titans his backstory of one day. "I had a sister named Ellie…"

* * *

As Henry told Robin of his crazy day, something walked about in a body not its own. As the sun rose over Jump City, the green _thing_ walked about in the form of the thug. It stretched.

"Ah… a new body, a new city, a new planet. Let's see how much… _fun_ we can have," its deep voice spoke. Its laughter echoed through the alley where it had first arrived. "I have things to do," the creature spoke to itself, and began walking. Now, where would one find the criminal element in Jump City?

* * *

 **Aaand there's that! I do hope that you are enjoying this as much as I had fun writing it (nearly a year ago!). If there are any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, or if you have anything to say at all, please either review or PM directly! I love feedback, and pretty much anything helps me to not only improve the story, but also feel inspired to write it. Granted, the first chunk of it was already written (thanks, past-me), but keep in mind that I WILL be writing new material for this at some point. Thank you so much for your time, and I sincerely hope that you all have a fan-freaking-tastic day!**

— **Cortexin**


	3. Robin is a Sadist

**Welcome back. I trust that you've enjoyed yourself these past two chapters—otherwise you wouldn't be here. Thank you for your patronage. Not much to say other than this might be a little shorter than the last two chapters, merely because I am putting just chapter 5 of the old story in. I'm going to need to wrangle up some brains and figure out how I'm going to manage the upcoming few chapters. There will be actual changes very soon, other than tiny little spelling or grammar issues. Also, I'm going to make sure I spell** _ **Gemlon**_ **right when we get to him. Who's Gemlon? You'll see…**

* * *

"…and then I guess that's when I fell to Earth in giant streak of fire," Henry concluded. The coffeepot had been emptied—mostly by Robin, but Henry had had some. Robin took a moment to respond. It was insane, all of it. Hit by a car? The Ellimist? Alternate universe? Of course, the alternate universe bit made the most since of all—different dimensions were certainly not unheard of. Raven was _born_ in one. The entirety of Azarath lay in its own, special dimension. Henry's "alternate universe" explanation was an extension of that. It was, however, a little hard to swallow the fact that he was merely a fictional character. That was like saying that Wolverine was real, or Pikachu. Hell, even _Mario_ might have his own world. But that wasn't the important thing. At the moment, what Robin knew for sure was that Henry was here, and that he couldn't go anywhere due to his lack of government identity. While it was true that he and Cyborg could whip up an identity, to have it validated, he would need to enlist the help of… higher authority. Robin knew him as Bruce Wayne, the Batman. However, it would be a lot of effort to get it all validated and set up, and he wasn't going to bother his former mentor with this issue. It would be the first they had spoken in years, and it was not going to be Robin asking Batman for help. No, the Boy Wonder was still too proud to go to the Dark Knight. This would be something he would solve on his own.

"So Henry," Robin began. "It's seven in the morning, Raven is on the roof, and the other Titans are still sleeping. Follow me," he instructed, and walked to the elevator. Intrigued, Henry followed. He stepped into the elevator, and stood silently as the doors closed. The elevator began to drop, and after a short while the doors opened again. Henry stepped out into a huge room—it must've as large as three tennis courts laid end to end. It was yellow in color, with a square pattern over the walls. Large black burn marks showed that the room had been used often. The room was bigger than what he thought would be possible given the Tower's dimensions, but then he remembered that the Tower was on an island. This must have been under the Tower, and underwater in some areas.

"This is the training room, Henry," Robin announced, and with a small smile on his place. This was great—showing off to someone new. Robin hadn't been able to introduce it to the Titans, seeing as though they were there when it was built. Terra had never really been down here, and if she had, it would have been Beast Boy showing her around, not Robin. Not that it mattered. "This room is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, more advanced than what the public will see for decades."

"This… this is amazing!" Henry said in awe, watching as two turrets came out of the ground. They were gray, and round in shape. The twin barrels on each of the turrets extended away from Henry. Suddenly, they swiveled towards him.

"Training starts now. By the way, those lasers hurt," Robin added, then leapt away as the turrets began shooting at Henry in slow, once-per-second bursts. Henry gave a cry of surprise, and began running and zigzagging to avoid being hit. Robin did multiple backflips until he was safely out of the away. He tapped the wall, and a control panel popped out. After several buttons were pressed and a few settings were changed, Robin turned back to view his handiwork. Different structures rose out of the floor, blocking Henry's path. They were different heights, and Henry nearly tripped over a short floor tile. Some of the obstacles were curved, others were hexagons, and some were like rocks. The turrets continued blasting away at Henry, who was now breathing hard.

"Robin!" he called. "You" pant "are "pant "insane!" Unfortunately for Henry, stopping to yell at Robin had caused him to not notice the turret fire, and a beam caught him in the left arm. "Agh!" Henry yelled in pain, grabbing his left upper arm. "That hurts!" he yelled again, still running. He let his arm go, otherwise he might get hit again.

"Find a way to disable the turrets!" Robin called out. He was enjoying this—it was pretty entertaining to see Henry run around like an idiot. Besides, Robin had to have _some_ fun once in a while. Henry, however, was finding it a _lot_ less funny. He jumped onto a raised floor tile, and onto another and another, until he was higher than the turrets. He ran across a long wall that had been raised, and jumped onto a turret. His outstretched foot had impaled the metal thing, shutting down the turret. The other turret fired, but could not raise its barrels to aim directly at Henry, so the lasers merely bounced off the side of the destroyed turret. Henry looked at the other turret. It was still a few yards away, and he lacked the ability Robin had to jump that far. So what was he going to do? Then he realized: powers. He jumped down from the top of the ruined sentry and landed, one knee falling to the floor. He got up from that position by beginning a run forward. Of course, twin lasers came at him, but they struck the palms of Henrys' hands. He focused on absorbing their energy, willing it to enter his body and become a part of him. It worked. Realizing this, Henry gave small "Yes!" before continuing towards the final sentry. The laser blasts, but each time Henry absorbed the yellow energy. He felt the energy flow through him, filling him, making him feel like someone had electrically massaged the inside of his body. It was weird, but not painful. Uncomfortable, yes, but it didn't hurt. He jumped into the air, using some of the absorbed energy to enhance the power in his legs. He easily cleared the height of the turret, and landed on a platform next to it. As the turret rotated to shoot him again, Henry thrust his right hand forward. Out of his palm came a shock wave—Henry had given a lot of the energy within him to caused extreme compression of the air, which traveled straight to the sentry. The barrels were blown off, and the rotating silver top of it flew into the air, landing a few feet away with a clatter. Robin clapped his hands a few times.

"Nice job Henry, but this only the beginning." Robin called out, and pressed another button on the control panel next to him. Four panels in the ceiling slid open, and a dozen or so little flying robots flew out. Each was two feet across, with twin propellers keeping the small, shiny body in air. The panels retracted, and the robots began to fly in a circle around Henry. Individually, they fired, causing Henry to yelp in surprise and pain from each shot. No matter where he turned, the shot always came from behind. Realizing this, he absorbed the next few shots. He had an idea, and was about to test it. He jumped upwards again, allotting a small amount of the absorbed energy to his jump. This time felt different—he felt like had a small electric shot running through his body. _Electric… hm…_ Henry said to himself. In the air, Henry put both hands down at angle, and shot a jolt of electricity towards the robots. The electric shock arced from robot to robot, each short-circuiting in turn as he landed. The pile of robots sat in a ring around the teenager. Henry wore a confident grin on his face. It came off of his face quickly when a hole appeared in the floor, making a loud _thud_ as the panel moved. A robotic arm came out, and Henry got into a fighting stance—well, what he thought would be one. He had only ever seen movies and TV shows, so perhaps it wasn't the best. However, it didn't matter, as the robotic arm merely began retrieving the grounded flying robots. Henry stepped out of the ring, looking towards Robin. To his surprise, Robin wasn't at the control panel. Henry began to turn to look for Robin when all of a sudden, he heard a small explosion. The area around him filled with smoke, and he unexpectedly began flying to his right. When Henry be oriented again, he realized that he had been kicked by Robin. He saw the area of smoke where he had just been standing. Two small objects flew out of it. Henry recognized them as birdarangs, but all too late. They flew near Henry, and suddenly he felt a thin wire wrap around him very quickly. Henry fell over, the birdarangs on his chest laying neatly. Robin dropped down from seemingly nowhere.

"Surprise," the leader said. Henry struggled against the wire, wriggling to be free.

"C'mon, Robin, that's cheating. I didn't even know you were going to fight me," Henry complained. This was for two reasons: One, he needed to buy time to think of a way out, and two, it really wasn't fair.

"What happens when run into the H.I.V.E. Five? Or Mumbo again? Do you think that _they'll_ fight fair?" Robin asked rhetorically, standing over Henry, who was still trying to find a way out.

"Fine, Robin. Just let me out," Henry said. Robin obliged, clicking the top of the birdarangs. The wire disappeared around Henry, whose eyes opened wide in shock. "How… how did that work?"

"Inside the birdarangs are a little wheel. By pressing the button, it disconnected in the middle and the wheel turned to retrieve the wire. It's like an automatic spool," Robin explained. "It happens so fast you don't even realize it." Suddenly, Henry collapsed. Robin dropped to grab him. "Henry! You alright?" Henry waved his hand.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm just… tired," he explained. "I don't know—one second I was fine, then the next I felt exhausted. I think that's one of the things that go with my powers." Robin nodded.

"We'll look into this later. Can you stand?" Robin asked, holding his back and chest. Henry rose slowly, his knees shaking. "Okay, now try walking," the traffic light-colored teen instructed. Henry took a step, and slowly but surely he made it to the elevator. When they got in, Henry leaned against the wall, clutching his head.

"Oh, man, my head is _killing_ me," Henry moaned. When the elevator opened up to the main room in the Tower, Henry slowly wandered over to the kitchen. Robin walked ahead of him, and pulled a small bottle out of a cabinet. Opening it, he removed two small white pills.

"Take these," Robin told Henry. The boy did as instructed by popping them into his mouth. Henry swallowed, and a sour look came on his face. Robin looked at him strangely. "Don't you need water?"

"Nope," Henry replied smugly. "I can take pills without anything. It's something I get from my dad."

"That is… interesting," replied Robin. Henry then had an idea—a crazy, stupid idea.

"Robin, get me a fork please," Henry said, looking around for something. Ah—there it was! He saw what he was looking for. Robin handed him a fork.

"Why do you need a fork?" asked Robin. He was confused, but followed Henry as he walked over to a spot on the wall.

"Now, this should work, or be really painful," the dimensionally-displaced teen said, folding the fork next to the outlet. Robin realized immediately what Henry was going to do.

"Henry, this is a bad idea," Robin warned. "You could seriously injured."

"I'll risk it," replied the foolhardy teen, then plunged the forks' prongs into the outlet. What followed was one of the most bizarre things Robin watched in his life. Henry stood perfectly still, but the fork began to spark. The lights in the kitchen began to flicker. The end of the fork glowed as Henry absorbed the electricity from the outlet. The fork started to glow, and still Henry held it.

"Um, Henry, you should let go," Robin cautioned, slowly backing up. "Like, right now." Henry listened, and removed the fork from the outlet, the end yellow. "How do you feel?" Henry's grin stretched from ear to ear, and if it were possible, would have come off of his face.

"Electric," was his reply. "I feel _really_ good, like I just had a long, hot shower, ate a filling meal, and I just had a great night's sleep." And that's exactly how he _did_ feel—but there was something else, too: a charge. It flowed throughout his body, mostly in his gut. He felt like he was a battery. He could almost taste the electricity on his tongue. That must have been the energy he absorbed; perhaps each type of energy felt different? He would find out later. Then, the sound of the elevator door opening caused Henry to turn around, and out came Cyborg.

"Did you guys see that?" he asked, sounding worried. Henry and Robin shook their heads. "There was a rapid power drain just moments ago. It pulled energy from all over the Tower to one location—here," Cyborg continued, pointing at the outlet Henry was near.

"Sorry, Cyborg, it was me," Henry apologized.

"You?" Cyborg asked, confused.

"It's one of his powers," Robin explained. "He can absorb energy, and I guess he can convert it too. I took him to the training room earlier, to see what he can do right now."

"Yeah, and you CHEATED," Henry said, crossing his arms.

"Well, listen, that's cool and all, but be careful next time," Cyborg replied. "If you want, I can set up a power-draining station for you."

"That would great, Cyborg!" Henry said. "So, now what do we do?"

"Well, it is about time for breakfast," Robin said. "Starfire will be up soon, and Beast Boy will be up whenever, so I think it's time for—"

"I'll get started on the waffles!" Cyborg interjected excitedly, and immediately went to the kitchenette to get started.

"Before you start, Cyborg, I have an idea," Henry said, walking to Cyborg. What if you put chocolate chips in the waffle batter?" Cyborg stopped moving.

"Chocolate chips?" The cyborg thought aloud. "IN the waffles? That might work…"

* * *

Somewhere on the far side of Jump City, a man that wasn't really a man walked into a bar. Now this wasn't a public bar. Technically it was, but if you were smart, you didn't go there. This was the place that the dangerous criminals went—the ones that didn't have special powers. These were normal people, save for their desire for crime. The regulars here weren't stupid, either, because they didn't do anything worthy of the Titans' attention. They knew they were no much for the superheroes, and so they kept low. The thug from the previous night walked in.

"Alright, maggots, listen up," he announced. One of the men at the bar turned around.

"Listen, pal, you keep your damn mouth shut. You ain't no one to call us mag—" was all he said before the newcomer raised his hand and shot a green glob of _something_ onto his face. The victim of the attack's face was completely covered. His screams were muffled by the green stuff, and he struggled in vain to remove it with his hands. After a few moments, the man stopped struggling.

"Now then, is there anyone else who wants to speak up?" Nobody did. The bar was silent. "Good. Change is coming to Jump City. There will be a new order, and it will spread across the world. We will become kings—no, GODS! Who is with me?" The bar cheered, and the man-not-man chuckled evilly. _Good,_ he thought. _Good…_

* * *

 **HOORAY FOR CREEPY GUY! Not much to say in this AN (author's note, for anyone who doesn't know) other than I look forward to feedback from you! Yes, you specifically, dear reader! What am I doing wrong? What am I doing right? Tell me! Any and all questions, comments, concerns, or general statements are appreciated. Reviews are good, and PM's are better for personal messages. Which is why they're called** **P** **ersonal** **M** **essages, I guess! Seriously though, if you want to talk to me, I'm all ears. Thanks so much for reading this, and remember, I hope you have a fan-freaking-tastic day!**

— **Cortexin**


	4. Titans Tourney (Part 1 of 2)

**Welcome back. Not much to say except special thanks to the users _Theboblinator,_ for the support and advice I've been given during this revamping process,** **and _Linkonpark100_ , for being the first to review the new story. Bask in eternal glory, you two. They're both writers, and I'll link to their stuff at the bottom AN. So, without any further distractions, here is the next chapter!**

* * *

And it did work. Cyborg cursed himself for not thinking of this sooner—how could he not have? Chocolate and waffles were some of the best things in the world (not above his precious T-Car, of course), and he hadn't had the idea of putting them together! Of course, his stomach didn't care whose idea it had been. All it knew was that chocolate chips plus waffles equals good. Syrup was also an interesting variable in the equation, making the end result delicious. Cyborg was not alone in his rapid consumption of the breakfast treats. Henry had nearly devoured as many as Cyborg had, and was gaining on him in terms of sheer amount eaten. Each had nearly eaten 20 waffles when Starfire came down, floating.

"Good morning, friends!" she greeted cheerfully. Robin muttered a 'morning, Star,' as he tried to grab a waffle before it was ripped into by either Henry or Cyborg. Luckily for the Boy Wonder, the two waffle fiends were also busy saying good morning to Starfire. Robin snatched a waffle from both of them, and grinned as he started into one. Starfire looked at the scene. "Friend Cyborg, why do the waffles have small brown spots in them?"

"They're chocolate chips," offered Henry, as Cyborg had already begun another one. "Have one," and he put a waffle onto a plate. Starfire collected it, and picked up the plate. When the Titans later recounted what happened after she tasted the first waffle, it would be in hushed tones…

Robin: "The waffles disappeared into seemingly thin air…"

Cyborg: "She took a waffle _out of my throat!_ "

Henry: "Her jaw unhinged like a snake…"

Raven: "I felt a wave of disturbance from the dining area…"

Beast Boy: "Dude! It was so cool!"

Cyborg: "You weren't even awake at the time!"

Starfire (eyes glowing): "WAFFLES!"

It was something that would terrify the Titans for weeks to come. At the present, however, a green glow dashed through the kitchen, and in its wake waffles disappeared. Waffles disappeared before they even came out of the waffle iron. When Starfire re-appeared, the area around her mouth was smeared with chocolate, and she held her hand above her mouth. Opening it to huge proportions, she dropped in several more waffles. After a moment of chewing and swallowing, Starfire looked at the stunned Robin, Henry, and Cyborg.

"What?" she giggled. Then came a shockwave not unlike a nuclear blast. Windows shattered as Starfire's burp traveled outwards. Up on the roof of the Tower, Raven collapsed as she lost focus. Beast Boy's sensitive ears detected it milliseconds before the full force struck him, and instantly changed into something small before he awoke. "Excuse me," the alien apologized. A dark portal opened, and out stepped Raven.

"What… happened?" she asked, looking for any threats.

"You don't want to know," Henry said quickly, still staring Starfire. Moments later, Beast Boy bounded into the room, appearing as a green wolf. He turned back into himself.

"Dudes, that was a twelve out of ten! Who did it?" he asked, grinning. Slowly, the three who were present pointed at Starfire. "Star? Awesome! Gimme five!" he said as he raised his hand for the gesture. Starfire returned it, confused.

"Twelve out of ten? Is that not an impossible number due to the fact that—" started the alien princess, but Robin interrupted, finally out of his burp-stupor.

"It's a rating, Star. He's rating your burp," Robin explained.

"It's something immature he does," Raven continued. Just then, the alarms went off, and the map of Jump City appeared instantly. Henry and the Titans ran to it, noticing where the attack—attacks, in this case—were happening. He nearly laughed when he saw the place at the center of the trouble.

"The corner of Stan Street and Lee Avenue," Robin muttered.

"What's there?" asked Henry, still trying not to laugh.

"A comic book store, a jewelry store, basically a bunch of stores," Cyborg said, noticing Henry. _I'll ask him later, he thought._

"Titans, GO!" instructed Robin, and out the window they went.

"Raven, do the thing you did last time!" called Henry, not wanting to be left behind. Wordlessly, the empath replied by creating Henry's stand.

"Let's try not to make a habit of this," she murmured to herself. A minute later the six teens landed in the middle of what was an all-out break-in. All of the stores in the immediate vicinity had broken into, with shattered pieces of glass everywhere. What was most noticeable, however, was the fact that there were several men at each store, working in an assembly line of sorts to move stolen items to a large truck. Near the truck stood a dark-haired man, with what looked like a green hood or hat, except it looked… gooey. Slimy. Maybe even _alive_. Then he turned around—away from the Titans and Henry—and they saw something horrible. The 'hood' was actually the top of what it would look like if you took a bear pelt, turned it into a green slime, and then stuck on the back of a person. It was like it was controlling the man like a puppet, except that it was _on_ him.

"Eeewww…" complained Beast Boy, "It's all nasty and green!"

"Beast Boy, _you're_ green," deadpanned Raven.

"So? That doesn't mean I like other green things—" started the changeling, when the dark-haired man with green slime turned towards them. He grinned.

"Ahh…. Titans," the man announced. His voice was sharp, and sent shivers down Henry's spine. It sounded like ice breaking under your foot when you went on the pond that you weren't supposed to be on. It sounded like the door creaking even though it couldn't because you locked it, and you were home alone. It sounded like that thing that went bump in the night, and it was coming closer. Yes, his voice sounded like many things. To Robin, the voice had a hint of Slade. Starfire heard the taunting of her sister Blackfire. Raven caught the undertones of Trigon, and for a moment, fear flashed through her. Beast Boy would swear that the thing speaking sounded like his uncle. Cyborg tensed when he thought he heard Brother Blood's calling*. Henry wouldn't realize who—or what—he recognized in the voice until much later. But at the time, the heroes froze, partially in fear, partially in shock. The man chuckled.

"Glad to see you could come join me today. But I'm so sorry, I'm busy. You'll have to reschedule your appointment," taunted the enemy. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have… _other_ matters to attend to." With that, the man raised his hand, and out shot three green globs. Each then grew into a shape similar to that of a person, and they charged at the teens.

"Titans, GO!" shouted Robin for the second time that day. "Star, with me. Cyborg and Beast Boy, you two get one. Raven, you can get the third one." With that said, he threw birdarangs at the glob. It absorbed them, with seemingly no affect. Starfire rose into the air, and threw several starbolts at the creature. It sizzled where they hit, but still the thing advanced. Meanwhile, Beast Boy had tried several different ways of smashing the goo. First was rhinoceros charge, which ended in the glop splitting in two, then merging back together. Then he slashed at it with a lion's paw, to no avail. Finally, he grabbed it with pteranodon feet and dropped it from high in the air. It splattered on the ground, but slowly pulled itself back together.

"Cy, man, do something!" cried the green teen as he avoided the blobby green thing's lunge. The cyborg responded by turning his arm into his signature sonic cannon.

"Booyah!" he exclaimed, shooting a blue streak of sonic energy at the creature. After a few seconds, Cyborg stopped, confident that he had beaten it. Burnt black, the thing stopped moving. But a moment later, a green crack appeared in the black form, and the creature poured out of it, quickly turning back into a humanoid shape. The black shell left behind crumbled into dust. Until now, Raven had been merely avoiding her opponent, instead watching her teammates try and fight them, to learn any weaknesses. So far, there were none. Finally, she decided to throw a few of her own black discs of energy. They sliced through the thing's arm, but it quickly returned to its body by attaching to the leg and moving back to its original position.

 _That was definitely weird_ , though Henry from the side. Robin hadn't told him to do anything yet, but he didn't want to just sit there. After watching the Titans try and fight the things, Henry concluded that part of the solution was to split the things apart. Granted, he knew the others had figured that out by now, but still, knowing that much was better than knowing nothing. Perhaps if they destroyed them when the pieces were smaller? That gave him an idea.

"Raven!" he called, running towards her and the green thing. " Blast it when I say to!"

"Why?" she called back, questioning why he was telling her what to do.

"Because I have an idea!" Henry yelled in return. "Just trust me!" Then he turned to face the green humanoid thing. "Hey, slimy! Come here!" The thing turned his way, and charged. Henry got into a stance he believed would give him as much air as possible. Five years in choir would finally come into use outside of singing _Born This Way_ or _Zing dem Herrn**._ He knew breathing. In went the air, and when the thing was about to be within arm distance, Henry let out a mighty shout, pushing his head forward and swinging his arms back. "FUS RO **DAH!** " The sound wave reverberated outwards as a shockwave much stronger than that of Starfire's belch that morning. Visible compressions of the air came out in rings from around Henry's mouth, blasting the green glob into a billion droplets of goo. Raven flew sideways to avoid the shockwaves, which continued onward for the length of a football field before finally dissipating. Henry buckled to a knee, holding himself up with the opposite arm. Raven flew over and landed near him, putting a hand on his back.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice filled with slightly more concern than usual. Which is to say, not a lot. Had it been Beast Boy… well, she might have eventually gone over to him, but chances were that she would take her sweet time to get there. Henry, however, was still a stranger. A stranger with powers. Powers she didn't quite yet know, so she was uncertain as to whether or not they would kill him in the process of using him.

"Yeah," he replied, "Blast it!" he said weakly, pointing towards the pieces. They had begun to come back together, forming little balls of goo rolling towards a center spot.

"No you don't!" exclaimed the empathy, sending out a blast from her hand. The pieces vaporized instantly, leaving nothing but a small reddish crystal in its place. She called it over to her by surrounding it in black energy, and it floated into her hand. The moment she touched it, she felt immense power radiating from it. There was an odd feeling behind it—the feeling of age, of eternity. Raven dropped it when she saw Henry fall. A quick check-over lead Raven to determine that he had fallen unconscious. That would be it for now, so she flew over to Robin and Starfire. Cyborg and Beast Boy had seen—and heard—Henry's display, and so decided that it was a good idea. The changeling transformed into horse and turned about, kicking the head of the goo-thing. Part of it splattered, but it was enough. Cyborg blasted it with his arm cannon again, and vaporized the body and head in one blast. Another crystal dropped down in its place. Robin had taken his bo staff and swung it at the thing's midsection, slicing through. Raven grabbed hold of the top half and lifted it with her powers, as Starfire blasted the bottom with a burst of starbolts. Raven then proceeded to rip apart the top half, each piece disappearing.

"Woo-hoo! We did it!" cheered Beast Boy, jumping in place.

"We're not done yet," Robin pointed out, motioning to the groups of men who had stopped moving things into the truck. They had started running in all sorts of directions, but all ran away from the Titans. Cries of "let's get out of here!" and "oh crap!" were heard from all over. "Get them!" ordered Robin, but the only one close enough was being held by Cyborg. He struggled as the Titan held him with one hand. Robin ran over to him.

"Who are you working for?" he demanded. The criminal coughed.

"His name… his name is—" he started, but a dart suddenly appeared on his neck. The Titans looked over to where it had come from—the truck. The green-backed man from before sat in the driver's seat.

"Goodbye for now, Titans," he called out. "Perhaps we'll meet again…" The truck started moving, but suddenly disappeared in a flash of light similar in color to that of the crystals. The man in Cyborg's hand went limp, but was still breathing. Raven flew over, carrying Henry on a plate of energy.

"How's Henry?" Robin asked, looking at the unconscious teen.

"Fine. He passed out after his little… shout, and so it will be a while before he comes to." Just then, the Jump City police arrived on the scene. An officer stepped out of one of the cars and approached the group of teens.

"What happened?" asked the cop in gruff voice. He was short, slightly overweight, and balding. Looking at him, you'd expect a box of donuts in his car.

"Some green globby thing had a bunch of his henchmen break in here. We're not sure what for," Robin quickly explained. "This is one of them—" he motioned to the man in Cyborg's arms "—and we're not sure what happened to him. Take him to the hospital. Let us know when he wakes up."

"Will do," replied the police officer, taking him into his own arms. Struggling, he carried him back to the police vehicle. The Titans looked around, seeing the damaged shops. Various comic books, pieces of jewelry, and furniture lay in the street among other items. Beast Boy got a gleam in his eye.

"Hey Cyborg," the green teen started to say. "What do you say we, ahem, _inspect_ the comic book store? You know, for _evidence?_ " He started to slowly walk over there with Cyborg in tow, but Raven grabbed the back of his outfit.

"No."

"Fine," the changeling replied, sighing. Then Robin spoke up.

"Looks like our work here is done. Let's get back to the Tower," he instructed. Starfire flew over and grabbed Robin, and Beast Boy grabbed Cyborg's shoulders with his feet. Raven looked over at the laying form of Henry. She let out a sigh. She did _not_ want to constantly carry Henry around, especially if he kept up this habit of knocking himself out. _Don't worry, Raven,_ she told herself as she scooped up Henry, one arm behind his back and one under his knees, _he won't be here too long. Once Robin and Cyborg figure where to put him, you'll never have to deal with this guy again._ Putting it like that, it almost put Henry in a villainous light. She brushed off the thoughts as she flew into the air. Hopefully, none of Jump City's stupid reporters would snag a picture of this. That was about the _last_ thing she needed. Of course, unknown to Raven at the time, that very thing was happening. The worst in Jump City, Nellie McDull was renowned for her horrible articles. Not that they were badly-written, it's just that she always wrote about something nobody cared about. The number of lost shoes in Jump, the economics of the candle industry, and whether or not organic bananas were more radioactive than normal bananas. She didn't have a choice, though. Her boss was practically deaf, dumb, and blind in the sense that he ignored her please for better stories. But, it paid the bills and kept the fridge mostly filled, so Nellie stuck with it. Seeing Raven now, however, got her thinking.

 _I knew it was smart to buy that camera,_ she thought, snapping several photos of Raven picking up and carrying the new hero. Once she got a few more, she would take them to work. Seeing as though the news—both the _Jump City Times_ and the major news channel, Channel 7—were run by JCN Inc., she could get a chance to go big in both places at the same time. Meanwhile, Raven was flying back to the tower, carrying Henry, when her Emoticlones spoke up. _You know, Raven, you still don't know why he's here._ Knowledge spoke-thought. _You still haven't beaten him up!_ added Brave. _He seems nice…_ Timid put in timidly (shocker, right?). Of course, Happy added the remark that made Raven fluster. _He's pretty cute!_ Luckily, the others were in front of Raven. The empath silenced her inner voices with _SHUT. UP._ She needed to focus on flying, and not dropping Henry. While she didn't necessarily like or dislike him, she doubted killing him was a good idea. And it's not like heroes were allowed to do that anyway. _Goodness gracious, Raven, what is WRONG with you today?_ She asked herself, thinking of her recent thoughts.

When all the Titans were in the Tower, Raven placed Henry on the couch. Robin had called the Titans to his evidence room, and when they were all present, he shut the door.

"Alright, there's something we need to talk about before I look into today's criminal," he began. "As you know, we have recently had a new person drop into our lives."

"Literally," Beast Boy added, before shushing so Robin could continue.

"Henry has an unusual set of powers, which we are still figuring out. We don't know much about him, but with conversations with him and samples of his blood, we do know this: Henry comes from somewhere else. He claims an alternate universe, where we are nothing but cartoon characters. His blood test doesn't match anyone else that's registered, and no government has any records of him. Ever. So either he's telling the truth, or he's really, really good at removing traces of himself." The remaining Titans looked at him with surprise—they each knew some of what Robin had told them, but nobody had known all of it. For a moment, it was silent. Then Beast Boy spoke up.

"There's no _way_ I'm a cartoon character! At least make me some sort of comic book star!"

"Yeah!" agreed Cyborg. "Maybe even be a video game character. That's be cool." Robin smacked his face with his hand.

"Guys, _focus_. That's not the point. The point is that we now have a powerful person out there, and we're going to need some more help in taking them down. We can't call Titans East or the other Honorary Titans, because they all have places to guard as well. I guess what I'm trying to ask is—how do you guys feel about Henry joining us?" Immediately, there were two squeals of joy. Unsurprisingly, it was Beast Boy and Starfire.

"This is most glorious!" cried out the alien.

"Awesome, dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Quiet, guys!" Cyborg hushed. "We don't wanna wake him. This is… kinda secret. But I agree that it's smart to boost our firepower." The Titans turned to Raven.

"As much as we need the help—which isn't a whole lot—we need to remember the last time we had someone join our team. Terra almost destroyed Jump City, and she worked for Slade."

"She was just confused!" an emotional Beast Boy argued. "She didn't know any better, and she couldn't control her powers that mmph!" Cyborg put a hand over the green teen's mouth.

"You are correct, friend Raven," Starfire admitted, floating down to the ground. "We must be the careful with picking someone new." Beast Boy turned into a dog and moved, then turned back into his normal self.

"I'm also saying that Henry is different. He came from _another freaking universe_ , and he doesn't have anywhere to go," he said calmly, despite still having a trace of wetness in the corners of his eyes. "If not for help, then I say we let him stay to be nice. He's a friend, to me if no one else." Here he crossed his arms. Raven stood speechless for a moment.

"That… was actually well-put, Beast Boy. I'm surprised you had the cognitive function to realize that." Raven said, instantly realizing that she may have been a little harsh with the whole "cognitive function" part. Luckily, he could only reply with 'cogni-whaa?', so she didn't feel too bad.

"So it looks like nobody is extremely against the idea," Robin noted, shifting in his stance. "I think the best plan is to wait a few days before making a final decision." The others nodded in approval. "Good, then we're agreed. You can all go now. I'm going to look more into our mysterious opponent today."

As the Titans left Robin's evidence room, Raven looked over at the unconscious form of Henry. She walked over to him, and place a hand on his wrist, trying to sense for any injuries from the fight. Of course, that was the moment that Henry regained consciousness. Seeing his opportunity to say something stupid, he took it.

"Geez Raven, if you wanted to hold hands, you shoulda just said something to me," he grinned. Raven immediately removed her hand and walked away.

"Boys," she muttered to herself. It was time for some meditation on the roof. It was going to be a _long_ day, and it wasn't even 11 o'clock yet.

* * *

Henry lay on the couch, buzzing his lips. Cyborg and Beast Boy were locked in a head-to-head battle onscreen, their cars grinding up against one another.

"Grass stain, there ain't no way you're beating me this time!" said the cyborg competitively.

"Dude, you are SO gonna lose!" replied the green Titan. Of course, Beast Boy was wrong, and Cyborg trounced the little changeling. As Beast Boy demanded a rematch, Henry spoke up.

"Hey guys, how about we do some training while Robin works on his project?" His suggestion received two glares from Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Who are you, Robin?" replied Cyborg. "That's all he _ever_ wants us to do."

"Yeah, man!" Beast Boy agreed. "He'd probably be training right now if he wasn't looking up that crazy green guy." Raven looked up from her book.

"But you know it's what Robin would want," offered Raven, closing her book and standing up. "Let's go." Despite complaints of 'who put her in charge' from the green one, Henry, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven left for the elevator. They passed Starfire, who was busy in the kitchen creating _something_ out of the various ingredients. Perhaps to avoid a confrontation, perhaps because they thought training would be better with only four people, or perhaps for no reason at all, Henry and the Titans walked silently past her, with nothing but a 'byeStarwe'regoingtotrainnow' from Cyborg. The elevator doors closed before she could respond. As the elevator descended, music began to play:

 _Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk that I'm a woman's man, no time to talk_

 _Music loud and women warm, been kicked around since I was born._

Three of the people stood there while it played—the other sung and grooved along to the song. When the elevator reached the bottom, Cyborg opened his eyes to see Raven, Henry, and Beast Boy staring at him.

"What?" he defended. "It's a good song."

"True, but do you know who sings it?" Henry asked as they stepped out into the large training room.

"The Bee Gees, of course," replied the cyborg.

"Let them," Henry said, then walked over to the control panel on the wall. Cyborg stood still for a moment, raising a hand in protest, but then put it down, realizing he had been outwitted. Henry looked at the panel with confusion. Beast Boy came running up and slapped a couple buttons. "You know how this works?" he asked.

"Nope," replied Beast Boy, smiling broadly. Suddenly, a robotic voice came from around them.

 **YOU HAVE SELECTED: TOURNEY**. A screen appeared on the wall, showing a small set of brackets and each of the Titans' heads. For Henry, a black outline of a face with a question mark on it stood in place. The heads began to switch rapidly between the four beginning positions, until finally slowing and stopping with the following matchups: Cyborg and Raven, and Beast Boy and Henry. **FIRST UP: CYBORG AND RAVEN**. The two looked at each other, then walked into the middle of the room. Four tiles rose into the air until there were about three yards tall. Four translucent blue beams of light generated between them, the low hum given off suggesting that maybe you didn't want to touch it. Beast Boy and Henry moved to a set of stadium seating that had popped out of the floor. They took a seat as the voice counted down: **FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ONE. BEGIN.** Evidently, this was a one-on-one challenge, as Cyborg let out a yell before charging Raven. Raven silently ran towards her teammate, her eyes focusing on him. Both of them knew exactly how it was going to end, and Cyborg was not going to be happy about it.

"Who're you rootin' for?" asked Beast Boy, still watching Cyborg and Raven. Henry took a moment before answering.

"Raven," he said. He looked at Beast Boy, who was still watching. "How about you?"

"Cy, but we both know Raven'll win."

"Hmm. You have a point." Henry replied. "If you know she's gonna win, then why not root for her?"

"I guess because I know sticking with my friend is better than trying to get her to li—" Beast Boy covered his mouth. Henry started to smirk. He knew how that sentence was going to end, partially from Beast Boy nearly slipping, and partially because of the obvious. He had _watched_ the show, and he had _read_ the wiki (and of course fanfictions, but that wasn't really something he was going to share with them, now, was he?), and like everyone else back home, he freaking _knew_ Beast Boy had a crush on Raven.

"Aw, Beast Boy," Henry mocked, drawing his hands up to his chest and interlocking them, "that's so CYOOT!" Beast Boy jumped and put a hand over his mouth.

"Sssshhh, man! You can't let her hear!" he said quickly, looking over his shoulder towards the battle raging between his teammates. At the moment, Cyborg was hurtling through the air, yelling.

"Dude, I don't think she's paying attention to us right now," Henry returned. He smiled and put a hand on the changeling's shoulder. "Don't worry, man. Your secret is safe with me." _And about every other fan of this couple,_ he thought.

"Thanks dude," Beast Boy said. Just then, Cyborg came flying through the air again, landing right in front of the seated teens. One could imagine stars floating around his head. The voice of the announcer came on again. **RAVEN WINS. NEXT CHALLENGERS: BEAST BOY AND** GUEST, with the last word sounding sharper, as if it was a substitute file. The glowing light barriers disappeared, and Raven floated into the seats. Beast Boy and Henry shared a glance. Henry was grinning. Beast Boy was not. The dimensionally-dislocated teen chuckled and began to walk towards the arena. The green one followed him. As they walked, Henry thought about the upcoming 'fight.' He still needed to refill his energy, as he was getting dangerously low on 'juice.' He didn't want to run out facing Beast Boy.

"No hard feelings after this, right man?" asked Beast Boy from behind him.

"Not between us. What're you gonna do if you win against me? You'll have to face Raven, y'know."

"Yeah, I know. She beats me every time, so it doesn't matter." When they got to the middle of the arena, the two saw two black marks on the ground indicating where they should stand.

"May the best man win!" called Henry. Then the voice started. **BEAST BOY VERSUS** GUEST. **BEGIN.** The blue light barriers appeared with a loud _HMM_ , and the battle was on.

Beast Boy was the first to move. He transformed into a ram, and charged, bleating. Henry was surprised at how quickly his new friend went straight into battle mode. Having practically no training, Henry knew only one thing: RUN. And that's exactly what he did. He ran towards Beast Boy, and at the last second jumped out of the way. Beast Boy's horn missed him by an inch. Henry turned around and saw his opponent pop back into his human form, before turning into a hawk, flying towards Henry. Henry stood dumbstruck—what was a hawk going to do? That question was answered when the hawk turned into Beast Boy and then into a hippo in the manner of one tenth of a second. The impact sent Henry flying backwards, and he smashed into one of the blue light barriers. It stung, but it wasn't going to kill him. He lay slumped against it. Beast Boy turned back into his normal form, standing a few yards away.

 _What am I doing?_ thought Henry. _I need energy—the light!_ In an instant, Henry turned and placed his hands on the barrier, willing the energy into him. This one wasn't as electric as the outlet had—it was almost warm, filling him up like hot chocolate. Henry sighed as the energy flowed into him, until it was abruptly cut off by a smash from his right side. Evidently, a green triceratops had decided to ram him. He landed with an _oompf!_ He rubbed his side.

"Alright Beast Boy, let's see how you handle this," he muttered to himself. Henry slowly walked towards the dinosaur, getting a look of confusion (if a triceratops can look confused). Suddenly, he ran, and his green friend charged at him again. This time, Henry jumped up early and stuck out his leg in what looked like a jump kick. Of course, he had never actually done one, so it was off. By putting extra energy into his jump, Henry was able to get to the height of the changeling's frill by the time they collided. Instantly absorbing the energy of the impact, Henry then forced a huge amount of kinetic energy into the frill, causing the triceratops to fly backwards. Beast Boy grunted as he turned back into a human. Henry landed and breathed heavily. Absorbing the impact had felt like a kick to the face and chest simultaneously, and he knew he would be sore. Henry watched Beast Boy stand up and transform into a mammoth. Letting out a loud trumpet, he thundered towards Henry. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to do what he had done last time, so it was time for a new trick. "Fus ro dahing" had knocked him out the last time, so that wouldn't work. Maybe… electricity? He'd have to try that one out. The green mammoth got closer, and Henry braced himself. He thought about lightning, and static electricity, and the Force lightning that the Emperor had used in _Return of the Jedi._ He decided on something like that, and sent a blast at the mammoth. A moment beforehand, though, the changeling had quickly gone from mammoth to tiger, and Henry's blast went underneath the great green cat. Beast Boy landed on Henry, and both fell to the ground. The brunette rolled to the side and—ignoring the pain—sent another blast into Beast Boy. This time, his electrical output hit its mark, and Beast Boy growled in pain. Henry quickly stood up, knowing he'd have to move fast. Tigers were fast, but they were also heavy. If he moved quick enough, he should be able to get another strike in. He ran forward towards the still-recovering Beast Boy, and grabbed his fur. Putting tremendous strength into his whole body, he dragged the struggling cat towards the barrier.

"Sorry, man," he muttered. Placing one hand on the barrier as Beast Boy switched between forms—lion, bear, cheetah, but still Henry held on. Finally, he willed himself to be a human conductor between Beast Boy and the light barrier. With a huge _zap!_ , Beast Boy flew into the air as sparks flew. When he landed, the green Teen Titan turned back into his normal form, eyes spinning.

 **WINNER:** GUEST said the announcing voice. The barriers disappeared, and Henry ran over to Beast Boy.

"You okay Beastie?" asked Henry, unintentionally giving him a new nickname. The green Titan shook his head violently, then sat up.

"Yeah, man. That last one _hurt_ ," replied Beast Boy, rubbing his head. "But I've lived through worse. That was pretty cool!" he added, getting back into his cheerful demeanor. Henry stuck out a hand, and the sitting teen took it, being pulled up.

"Nice match," Henry commented.

"Yeah, nice match," agreed Beast Boy. **NEXT MATCH: RAVEN VERSUS** GUEST. **FIFTEEN MINUTE REST FOR COMPETITORS** , the voice spoke. Cyborg and Raven walked down, Cyborg grinning. He walked up to Henry.

"Nice job there, Henry," commented the cyborg. "I didn't expect that coming from such a rookie like yourself."

"Thanks, neither did I," Henry replied, sheepishly shrugging.

"It wasn't terrible," Raven offered.

"Whatta ya say we get some grub before you two duke it out?" suggested Cyborg.

"Um, Cy? Star's cooking right now," Beast Boy reminded, making a disgusted look on his face.

"Yeah, all I need is an outlet. I'm drained," Henry said, looking for one. Cyborg moved his arm, and began clicking on the panel that appeared on it. Suddenly, a part of the wall moved, showing several strange devices. One looked like a giant plug.

"It's one of my recharging stations. All you gotta do is grab the prongs," Cyborg said, motioning to it. Henry walked over to it, and tentatively grabbed the prongs. Volts of electricity surged through him, causing Henry's hair to stand on end. Despite this, the teen held on, absorbing the electrical output. After several seconds, he let go, and the charging station withdrew back into the wall. Henry walked over to the Titans.

"Thanks, Cyborg," Henry said. "Gotta love some fresh electricity!" he added sarcastically. The next few minutes were spent on small talk, until the voice spoke again.

 **FINAL MATCH WILL NOW COMMENCE.**

"That wasn't fifteen minutes," commented the newcomer. He and Raven walked towards the arena, and went to their separate starting positions.

"Good luck Henry!" called Cyborg.

 **MATCH WILL COMMENCE IN 5... 4...** _Focus, Henry,_ Henry thought to himself as he took a calming breath. He was about to face Raven, his second-favorite Titan, in a one-on-one battle. He quickly ran through his mind everything he could remember seeing her do.

 **2... 1... BEGIN!**

* * *

Elsewhere in Jump, the villain from earlier sat in the bar, looking at what he had stolen: furniture, as every evil needed a private lair, and it needed to be comfortable. Jewelry, as he needed _something_ to promise the goons. And the comic books? Well, he'd need _some_ inspiration. But now, it was time to plan. There was going to be a LOT of planning. He chuckled. If only Slade were still around. It would have been fun, watching the Titans pin everything on him. That'd make his plan easier—but the good things in life weren't easy to get.

* * *

 **When will the Titans run into this mysterious bad guy? Not anytime soon. Sorry. That said, I will encourage you to keep reading (if you're in the future, where more chapters have been written), or add this story to your alerts, if you're in the present, so you can find out what happens next! If you're in the past, well.. How are you reading this? Anyway, invest in Apple. They'll be big really soon. Here are the links to Theboblinator and Linkonpark100:** **u/4416592/Linkonpark100 and u/5455036/ respectively.**

 **I'm very close to finishing up the revising and combining of everything that was previously written. Soon enough, I'll be making original content that can only be read in this story! If you're that desperate to know what happens next, go to my profile and check out the original Henry's story. Keep in mind that the two will diverge around chapter 13 of the original, and I'll find out when this one deviates.**

 **Thank you so much for reading this (and I hope everyone reads the author's notes). As always, if you have questions, comments, concerns, ideas, or anything to say at all, feel free to review or PM about it. I hope that you have a fan-freaking-tastic day!**

 **-Cortexin**


	5. Titans Tourney (Part 2 of 2)

**Welcome, everyone, to the first chapter with any noticeable change from the original! I hope that you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Henry was knocked flat before he could register Raven's movement. He caught a disc of black energy square in the chest, and flew back ten feet before he hit the ground. He let out an _oomf!_ , and struggled to get up. He watched Raven slowly walk over to him. _Damn,_ he thought, _didn't expect that from her._ She was almost taunting in her stride, but she stopped when Henry stood up. Henry's left hand glowed and crackled with electricity, and he shot out a bolt towards Raven. She created a shield to block the strike, and continued to step forward. Henry stopped his lightning strike, seeing as it was a waste of energy.

Meanwhile, Raven was watching Henry, trying to figure out what he would do next. He looked unsure of himself, to no surprise. Apparently, his powers were as new to him as they were to her, and that wasn't good. She didn't know all of what he was capable of, compared to her teammates. After years of fighting side-by-side with them, she had a pretty good idea of how to combat them. Henry, however, was new. He wasn't even a part of the team. Raven had no idea of what else he could do, or even his fighting style. She had seen him in action three times—once with Mumbo, once with those green _things_ , and once with Beast Boy. From what she had seen, Raven could tell that Henry liked to draw in his opponents, then hit them with his power. Therefore, this was as close as she was getting to him. She watched as he put his foot back, and held his arms out with clenched fists. Raven struggled to remember where she had seen him do that before, but then it hit her.

"VEN GARR **NOS!** " shouted Henry. Now, he couldn't actually cause the effects of the shout by shouting, but with his powers, he willed a LOT of energy into the air around him, forcing high winds towards Raven. The mini-cyclone smashed into Raven, knocking her about and causing her hair to blind her. Henry used this moment of distraction to run towards the empath. Raven suddenly felt a huge shock run through her, and she barely focused enough to open a portal underneath of herself.

Henry watched as Raven disappeared into the darkness beneath her. He turned around, searching for where she could have teleported to. Sadly, however, he didn't look up. If he had, he would have seen the black disc of energy Raven was standing on drop onto him. The disc slammed Henry onto the ground, and the weight of Raven, although not much, crushed the boy between a cold energy and the hard ground. Henry struggled, but he couldn't move much. Luckily, he had landed facing up towards the disc, and he placed his hands on the bottom in an effort to push it off of him. Then he realized something: this was ENERGY. He could do something with this! He focused on his hands, and slowly drew the disc into himself through his hands. It felt very strange, like there were a million tiny holes in his hands, and a cold needle was being shoved into each every single one of them. It didn't hurt, but it felt very odd.

Raven noticed the disc shrinking, and it took only a moment for her to realize what was happening. She jumped off and flew a short distance away, turning to look at Henry. He stood up, but he looked different—as if he was cold. He was, of course. The combined effects of the disc pressing against him and the cold feeling he got from absorbing it had left him shivering. His arms felt heavy, but he knew he had to act fast. He willed more energy into his arms, hoping to warm them up. It did, and started to run towards Raven, who was still floating. He ran and jumped towards her, using the technique he had used several times now. Forcing strength into his legs, he jumped up to Raven's level and let out a yell as he shot another blast of lightning towards her. She blocked it again, and this time it bounced back into him. Unprepared for this, Henry let out a scream of pain as he fell, focusing enough to absorb all the energy from hitting the ground. He stood up again, only to hear Raven grunt with effort as she was surrounded with a black light. He panicked, and began charging electricity around him. The energy began to cackle, and all at once the two released their energy in two synchronized bursts. The electricity and dark energy collided, and the resulting shockwave sent both flying backwards. When the dust settled, a smell of ozone filled the air. Raven staggered as she stood, looking for Henry. At last she saw his form, unmoving on the ground.

 **WINNER: RAVEN! CONGRATULATIONS, THIS IS YOUR FIFTH STRAIGHT VICTORY!** The voice spoke, and confetti fell from the ceiling as the light barriers turned off. Raven ran over to Henry, who was moaning.

"Henry!" Raven called, "are you alright?" The empathy kneeled near the boy, feeling around for any broken bones. Luckily, there were none. Otherwise she would have sensed his pain.

"Yeah," moaned the dimensionally-displaced teen after a moment. "My head hurts something awful, though." The two heard the sound of feet on the ground, and Cyborg and Beast Boy came running over.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Beast Boy exclaimed with a grin on his face.

"You didn't do too bad, Henry," Cyborg commented, bending down and extending a hand towards Henry. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a little bruised," Henry confirmed, taking the cyborg's offered limb. With Cyborg's help, he stood up on his own feet. Just then, the elevator opened, and Robin and Starfire burst out in an attack position. Robin held his bo staff, and Starfire floated with her hands glowing green.

"What's the trouble?" asked Robin, looking around.

"There's no trouble," Raven assured. "We were just training using the tourney program. Henry and myself had used our powers, and when they collided, it exploded."

"So that's what it was," Robin said cautiously, collapsing and putting away his staff. Starfire landed, and her starbolts disappeared.

"Glorious!" she said happily. "Nobody is in danger. We shall celebrate by consuming the meal I have prepared!" Despite the 'ehhs' and troubled looks from Henry and the other Titans, Starfire did not seem to notice everyone else's apparent dislike of the idea. A half hour later, Starfire forced her friends into the dining area. The meal ended up much more mild than Starfire's native dishes usually were, and Henry was surprised. The Titans had always shown some form of disgust when eating it, but Henry found the blue-green glob of _whatever it was_ to be rather appetizing.

After lunch, Henry found himself being whooped again and again by Cyborg in _Twisted Wheels 2_. It was almost comical—Henry's embarrassment was becoming worse and worse from each consecutive defeat. After the seventh, Henry stood up from the Titans' U-shaped couch, and set the controller down. He took a quick look around. Robin and Starfire were engaged in some conversation about Earth culture, and Raven had her nose in a book. Henry took a look at Cyborg, who was seated next to him.

"I think I'm done for a while. So much losing in row makes a guy need a break," Henry said, deflated. "But I have to ask—where is the bathroom?" Cyborg stood up.

"Take the elevator to our bedroom floor. It's in between my room and Starfire's room, across from Te—er, the empty room." The two locked eyes for a second, and Henry could detect a trace of sadness in the cyborg's real eye. The moment passed, and Henry thanked Cyborg. He walked away silently, listening as Cyborg yelled at Robin to join him in his game, and stepped into the elevator. Some catchy song was playing (something about bad blood?)[1], but Henry wasn't paying attention. He was focused on the massive pressure in his bowels. He could have played with Cyborg ten more times, but it appeared that although Henry like the alien princess' food, it did not like him. The moment the elevator doors opened, it was a mad dash to the bathroom. Out of respect to Henry, the exact noises that emanated from the bathroom will remain undisclosed, but imagination is heavily encouraged when trying to think of them. The time spent in the bathroom will also be undisclosed, but it lasted long enough that, had anyone seen him gone it, they would have knocked on the door and asked if Henry had fallen in. Thankfully, only one person was nearby, but they were too busy notice that Henry had even walked by.

After—ahem— _relieving_ himself and taking the necessary hygienic procedures, Henry stepped out of the bathroom. He and Starfire were going to have a serious conversation about what was in that meal. As Henry began to walk away, he thought that he heard something, and the dimensionally-dislocated teen stopped to listen. The voice seemed to be coming from the empty room across from the bathroom. Henry slowly walked over to the door, and noticed that it was ever so slightly ajar. Looking at the door, Henry could see a stripe of pain in the upper middle section of it with what looked like indents. The teen ran his hand along them, trying to figure out what it was. It appeared as though someone had tried to cover up something...

Letters. That's what the indents were. And they weren't just _any_ letters. Specifically, they were an A, an E, two R's, and a T. Henry lowed his hand, and in that moment, something hit him. He wasn't _in_ a cartoon. He was in a world just like his own—where there were people who loved and lost, who laughed and cried, who lived and died. The Titans, despite their powers, were no different. _This was Terra's room_ , he thought sadly. But who was in it? Putting his ear to the tiny sliver of space, Henry realized that it was Beast Boy.

"…and he's really nice, too. We don't know how he got here, but it looks like he'll be here a while, and… he reminds me of you a little." Who was he talking to? "But I don't know if he's gonna join the team since we've known him for, like, a day, but Robin and Cyborg say he doesn't legally exist anywhere. He could go anywhere, do anything… just like you." Beast Boy let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh! This would be so much better if you were here! But you're not, and there's nothing that anyone can do about it. It's not fair!" The last sentence was almost a yell, and Beast Boy dropped to his knees. Henry dared to peek into the room, and watched as the green teen drag his hands down across his eyes. His voice began to quiver a little.

"I miss you, Terra." Henry watched silently as the changeling stood up and placed a small picture frame on the desk. Beast Boy turned towards the door, but stopped when he saw Henry opening the door. "Oh, hey Henry," he said, his voice lacking his normal cheerful demeanor.

"Beast Boy, I… I heard some of what you were saying. I know it's too late to matter, but for what it's worth… I'm sorry." The two looked at each other, not needing to verbally recognize what he meant.

"S'okay. It's been a year and a half, but I'll never forget her." At this point, Henry looked at the picture frame. It showed a laughing Terra, with a few strands of hair covering part of her face. Beast Boy was seated next to her, and he was making a goofy face by sticking out his tongue and pulling the sides of his mouth with his fingers. Henry realized that they must have taken it at the abandoned carnival, and felt a pang of sadness. After a moment of silence, Beast Boy spoke again. "Well, it hasn't been _that_ long." Henry looked back to the Titan in front of him, confused.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, knowing that he should know what.

"Last week, I ran into someone who looked _just like her_. She talked just like Terra, she acted just like Terra… she even laughed like Terra! But she said…" Beat Boy stopped for a moment, and took a breath. "She said that she didn't know who Terra was. But do you know what the worst part about it was, Henry? _Her name was Tara_ , and that is just too close to be a coincidence. On top of that, Terra's statue—her body turned to stone—is missing from where it was." Beast Boy was panting, but his breaths began to slow. "Sorry about that… I just… needed to vent about it to someone."

"I know. To be fair, I think it's her, too," Henry offered. It was Beast Boy's turn to be confused.

"How could you possibly know?"

"It was an episode. In the show, I-I mean," Henry explained. At this, Beast Boy perked up, his ears twitching.

"Hey, if we were a cartoon, then you must know what's next! What happens next, huh? Do I see her again? Was it Terra?" asked the teen, his eyes wide. Henry shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it was the last episode…" Henry said sadly.

"Of the season?"

"Of the show." Beast Boy's face dropped again, but Henry put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You'll be alright, BB. Perhaps it what's best for her." The two shared another silent moment before the changeling spoke.

"I see…" was all Beast Boy could say.

"I'm sorry, Beast Boy, I really am."

"It's not your problem anyway…." Then his expression changed. "Whattaya say we go do something fun? We can't spend all day feeling sorry for me." Henry cocked his head at the abrupt change in emotion.

"Sure thing… grass stain," Henry replied with a grin. As the two left the room, Beast Boy turned back and silently looked at the picture one last time, then shut the door.

"So, uhm, it'd be great if you didn't mention this to anyone else," Beast Boy said as the two walked back to the elevator.

"Not a problem. So, what are we doing?" asked Henry.

"I'm showing you around town!" And show Henry around he did. After getting approval from Robin—"I suppose if he's going to live in this city, he'd better know his way around it."—the two teens spent the next several hours walking (and occasionally flying) around Jump City. Henry had a blast—the place reminded him a little of Boston, where he and his family had visited several times during summer vacations, and also of San Francisco, where his uncle lived[2]. Henry had been forced to fly out there for his uncle's wedding, and ended up spending a lot of time admiring the city's many sights. Around three o'clock, Henry and Beast Boy were walking past a building with hordes of people leaving it.

"…aaand this is Murakami High School," Beast Boy explained. Henry took a quick glance at Beat Boy, and noticed that he was looking away from the school. Why would Beast Boy be so nervous around a school? Then it hit him. _This was Terra's school_. Henry stopped walking, gears beginning to turn in his brain.

"Hey, uh, it's good that we're here. I need to go inside and talk to the principal," Henry said quickly. Beast Boy looked at him, eyebrows arched. "Well, Robin and I talked earlier, and it's possible that I might start going to school. I have no training, and I don't know if I'm cut out for superhero life." Henry crossed his fingers, hoping that the lie was believable. Beast Boy considered what Henry had told him.

"Alright, dude. Need me to go in with you?" asked the green teen.

"No, no, that's okay," Henry said hurriedly. "I'll be fine. Just, uh, wait for me out here."

"Whatever, dude. I'll be on this bench waiting for you." As Beast Boy turned and walked towards a conveniently-located bench, Henry let out a sigh of relief, and began walking against the relentless torrent of students. Finally making it inside, Henry stopped moving, and looked around. _Now, if I was Terra, where would I be?_ wondered Henry. He noticed a few groups of students still lingering in the halls. Without any better options, he approached one of them.

"Um, excuse me. I'm looking for Ter—er, Tara Markov. Do you happen to know her?" All three of the students in the group shook their heads. He thanked the students for their help, and went off to find someone who might have known her. For thirty minutes, he searched, but to no avail. Henry eventually began any teachers he saw, but none of them knew where she could be. After another ten minutes, Henry gave up. _Maybe I'll find her tomorrow_ , he thought to himself. He spied a water fountain, and decided that a drink would be nice. As he stooped to drink, he noticed someone step out of the nearby girls' bathroom, talking on a cell phone.

"…Yes, Mr. Freeman, I'll be home as soon as I can. Yes, I missed the bus. I was talking to a teacher. Okay. Yes sir. Goodbye." Hearing her speak almost gave Henry a heart attack. It was her! Henry gasped and accidently inhaled some of the water. He stood up, coughing. The blonde, finished with her conversation on the phone, turned around to face him. "Excuse me, are you alright?" she asked, looking concerned. Henry nodded, still coughing. She turned to go, but Henry called out for her.

"Wait! I need—cough—to talk—cough—to you." She stopped.

"Uh… sure, but I gotta leave real soon," the blonde replied. Henry stopped coughing, and cleared his throat.

"Sorry 'bout that. Ah, look, uh… Your name is Tara Markov, right?" Henry asked. She nodded. "Great. Listen, uh, my name's Henry. Henry Stevenson," he said, extending a hand. 'Tara' took it and shook.

"So, Henry Stevenson, what do you need from me?"

"Just Henry, if you will. Look, do you happen to know a 'Beast Boy' of Teen Titans fame?" 'Tara' rolled her eyes and began to walk away. "Hey! Hey, wait a sec! I know who you really are!" The girl turned around to face him.

"And just _who_ do you think I am, huh?" she asked, her voice rising. Henry paused a moment. He knew that if he said "Terra," she'd just turn and walk away. _Think, you idiot. What else do you know about her?_ Henry thought hard, looking straight into her blue eyes. "Exactly. Leave me alone, creep."

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Henry said. Her eyes grew wide. "Excuse me, I should say Your _Royal_ Highness. That is how one addresses a princess, correct?[3]" Henry smiled and bowed, but the girl looked at him in horror. She began to slowly back away from him.

"I don't know how you know that, but if you're one of my father's men I swear that—" she began, but Henry held up a hand.

"Relax, I don't know your father. Honestly, I'm not." The blonde had stopped backing away, but still had a look of distrust on her face. "Listen, tomorrow's Saturday, right? Meet me at the park tomorrow afternoon, by the statue near the pond. 12:30. Beast Boy won't be there, I promise."

"Why should I trust you?" The girl asked.

"I know who you really are, right? I haven't told anyone that, and it will remain that way. Look, when we're done talking, wait for me to be out of sight before you go. You'll see why you can trust me." She looked at Henry, trying to figure him out.

"I don't know what game you're playing at, but you seem like you're telling the truth. I don't trust you, but I'll meet you." It was an uneasy agreement, but Henry smiled.

"Glad to hear it. I'll see you tomorrow… Terra," Henry said, and began to walk towards the exit. The girl, wordless, followed him, and watched as Henry walked towards a bench. To her surprise, she saw the green-skinned Titan stand and talk to him. She watched as he transformed into a large green pterosaur, grabbed Henry by the shoulders, and flew away. She stood for a moment longer, until Henry and Beast Boy were out of sight, then began her own journey home. Whoever this Henry was, he seemed… _different_ , out of place. There was something off about him, and she was going to find out what!

* * *

The rest of the day remained uneventful, other than a brief argument over dinner. In the end, a compromise was reached, and Cyborg went out in the T-Car to pick up Chinese. Food delivery to the Tower was unavailable, as it was located in the middle of Dockett Bay, but Cyborg had managed to turn a land vehicle into a temporary sea vehicle, and was quite proud of it. When it was time for bed, Henry opted for the couch again, and fell quickly into a deep sleep.

Robin, however, was still up. His efforts to find any information on the mysterious villain from earlier that day were completely fruitless. It troubled him that this guy—this slimy _freak_ —comes from out of nowhere, taunts them, and then disappears like it was nothing. However, Robin knew that obsessing over it would do nothing (something that he had learned from his experiences with… _him_ ), and that getting a proper night's rest was important. Shutting down the computer, he walked quietly through the Ops room where Henry was asleep. Robin stood and watched Henry for a moment. He looked so _normal_ , and yet… wasn't. Some strange quality, some intangible thing, surrounded him, and that bothered Robin. He'd have to look into that later, but for now, Robin was going to look into crawling into his bed. As he rode the elevator, Robin thought of something. _If he ends up staying with us… where is he going to sleep?_ There was always Terra's room, but it seemed disrespectful to her memory. As he walked towards his own room, he noticed that Raven's door was open. He walked over to it, and knocked twice on the entrance. A few moments later, the empath walked over to him.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

"Nothing in particular, I'm just… concerned," the leader of the Titans admitted.

"Henry?"

"Yeah. Is it just me, or is something off about him? I don't know what it is, but…" Robin trailed off, knowing Raven understood.

"I feel it too. He doesn't seem to be harboring anything that we need to be concerned about. However, I did notice that he was unusually excited when he got back with Beast Boy." Raven sighed. She had meditation to do—Robin knew that. He must have suspected something more than what he was letting on.

"Listen, we need to find out more about him. I've spoken with Cyborg, and he's going to keep a tab on things. However, he can get distracted sometimes, so I'll need you to help him." Robin looked at Raven—her hood was up, and he couldn't quite make out her facial expression in the darkness, if she was even making one.

"What do you mean by 'help?'"

"Just… when you talk to him, try to find out anything you can."

"So, you want me to be a spy," Raven noted.

"No!" Robin said, denying the claim. "Just… if you can get close to him, let me know anything." Raven raised an eyebrow, not that Robin could see it. "Don't be fake about it, either. He appears to have substantial knowledge about us, our past, and our personalities, so I get the feeling he'll know something's up if you get too friendly."

"Robin, you know I don't 'do' friendly," Raven argued, but Robin held up a hand.

"Don't give me that crap, Raven. You can be a likeable person, you just need to be open about it." White mask met violet eyes, but Raven conceded.

"…Fine, Robin. In exchange, I get a decrease in patrol time. Deal?"

"Deal. Goodnight, Raven," Robin replied after a moment of thought, and walked away. Raven shrugged her shoulders under her robe, and shut her door.

She _did_ need to sleep, after all.

* * *

 **IN AN UNKNOW LOCATION IN JUMP CITY…**

"Sir, we've got them," said a nameless underling.

"Good," replied the villain. "Bring them forth." Moments later, a bound Gizmo, Control Freak, and Adonis were thrown in front of him. Adonis had been difficult, but had eventually been subdued.

"Hey, no-good snot-lickers! Lemme go!" complained Gizmo.

"I'm missing the _Clash of the Planets_ marathon!" whined Control Freak.

"Zzzzzz," snored Adonis. He had to be knocked out. People in mechanical suits were hard to transport awake.

"SHUT UP!" roared the villain who was not of their universe. "I have need of your talents. You will help me, and I will reward you."

"Oh yeah, crud-picker? And what if we don't?" asked Gizmo, still struggling without his backpack. The villain clapped twice. An underling came out.

"Yes, sir?" he asked, before a glob of goo covered his face. He screamed, struggling to get it off of him. The goo began covering his body, and eventually the body underneath stopped struggling. The man-shaped goo stood up and walked away.

"THAT is what will happen." Control Freak and Gizmo looked at each other, and gulped.

"We'd love to help!" they replied in unison.

"Good. In that case, BRING IN THE CRYSTALS!" called out the villain. Another servant came out carrying three glowing red crystals. "Give one to our… guests, here." Control Freak and Gizmo took one, and one was placed on Adonis' sleeping form. "My friends, you will remember this day for a long time. For this is the day you entered the service of your Master Gemlon!" the villain laughed. The two minor villains laughed along nervously.

"Let us begin," Gemlon stated, and began talking. Control Freak and Gizmos' eyes grew wide at what their new leader told them…

* * *

 **[1] This is a reference to Taylor Swift's** _ **Bad Blood**_ **, a song that I have not yet listened to in its entirety, nor do I plan to.**

 **[2] This is a reference to the fact that the original show's animators based the architecture and design of Jump City on a mix of Boston and San Francisco. If you already knew that, awesome!**

 **[3] It was never discussed in the show, but Terra really is a princess. "Princess Tara Markov of Markovia" is officially her name. Look it up if you don't believe me, but I hope you do.**

* * *

 **And now, I'm going to introduce a little section where I respond to reviews! *applause***

 **Linkonpark100: sorry, but I'm not that kind of a writer. There won't be gore, as I don't find it appropriate for what I have in mind for the story.**

 **Raven 105 (guest): If you have an account, PM me and we'll talk about this further privately… for now, you'll just have to wait and see what happens! Spoiler alert: Slade will not be a character in this story, unless he's in a flashback. Sorry.**

 **Thanks so much everyone! 5 follows, 5 favorites, 4 reviews… and over 150 views on the story! I'm so happy that I broke the 100 view count so soon! It's great to see that people are actually reading this! That said, I LOVE feedback, and so if you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, or anything at all to say, review or PM me. I am rather good at replying to PM's (or noticing a review), and will generally reply within a day. I DO love reviews, though, and anything relevant to the story is helpful. I can't get better if I don't know what needs to change, so tell me. Just, don't be rude about it.**

 **Thanks for all your support (especially Heartless demon wolf and Theboblinator), and remember that I hope you—yes, you personally—have a fan-freaking-tastic day!**

— **Cortexin**


	6. Training and Talking

**Woohoo! 300+ views on the story! And 12 reviews. That's fantastic. Thanks so much for your support! I've been PMing with some people about the story, so thanks to them especially for the encouragement and great ideas. You know who you are. Another special thanks to everyone who has followed and favorited this story!**

 **As for the story itself, it seems that I've come to the end of the line for old material. Basically, from this point out, I'll be putting out brand-new material! I still will be recycling concepts from the old story for a few more chapters, but that's a moot point.**

* * *

" _We can dance if we want to/ We can leave your friends behind_

' _Cause your friends don't dance/ and if they don't dance they're no friends of mine."_

Henry groaned as the music played. _Just five more minutes, please_ , he thought to himself, wishing that his alarm would stop. Henry rolled and shoved his face into the back of the couch he was sleeping on, trying to ignore the song emanating from his phone. _Phone_? Henry thought quickly, and shot straight up. He looked down on the floor, and saw his phone laying there. Underneath was a scrap of paper. Curious, Henry reached down and grabbed both items, and dismissed the Men Without Hats song [1]. With the phone no longer making noise, Henry looked over the paper. On one side was a printed note.

 _Henry,_

 _Have you been training with your powers? I trust that you have._

 _I bring a warning: You will again encounter the threat that I have sent you here to face. Although I cannot outright tell you what to do, I suggest that the Titans must gather their allies. You are already on the way to recruiting one, but there are still more to be gained. I trust that, with perseverance, you and the Titans will be able to overcome what awaits you. If the need arises, I will contact you again._

There was no signature or name at the bottom, but one wasn't necessary. Henry knew who had given him his phone and this note: the Ellimist.

"Whatcha got there, Henry?" asked a voice from the other side of the room. Henry turned around startled, but relaxed when he saw that Cyborg was standing in the kitchenette area, along with the early risers Robin and Raven.

"Not much, just my phone," Henry said casually. "Oh, and this note that says we'll be facing a threat soon. The usual." This attracted the birds' attention.

"Bring them here, Henry. I'd like to read this note of yours," instructed Robin. Henry complied, and walked over to the three Titans. He handed the note to Robin, who read it aloud. Cyborg took a look at Henry's phone, examining it with scrutiny. Raven listened as Robin spoke. After a moment, the Boy Wonder spoke up.

"How did you get this? Who is it from?" he questioned, looking at Henry.

"I woke up with it next to me. I have to assume it's from the Ellimist, considering that I didn't bring my phone with me when I came here," explained the still-groggy Henry. Robin's brow relaxed some, but he still had questions.

"Why would we need to 'gather allies?'" asked Raven, looking at Robin.

"Yeah, and what's this about 'over coming what awaits' us?" added Cyborg.

"I don't know, and to be honest, it's too early for this kind of thing," Robin said. "I still need breakfast, and I'm sure you three do too." Cyborg grinned, and instantly donned a chef hat.

"I'm cookin'. Anyone want pancakes?" asked the cyborg.

"Anything's good if it isn't waffles," Henry commented. Instantly, a breeze blew past them, and Starfire was floating near them, looking around.

"I heard something about the waffles?" the alien asked, eyes growing large. The other four looked at each other, and laughed. Even Raven chuckled, enjoying this small moment with her teammates. _And Henry_ , she mentally added. Starfire dropped to the ground, confused. "Please, friends, what is so funny about waffles?"

After breakfast, with Beast Boy waking up only to have a minor argument about the use of eggs in the batter, the Tower calmed. No criminal alerts had come in yet, and so Robin had decided that it was time for a training session. Not with powers, but instead, in the exercise room. Despite complaining moans from Beast Boy, all six of the teens made their way to the medium-sized room. Inside, Henry saw dumbbells, hand-held weights, horizontal bars to do pull-ups, and all sorts of exercise equipment. He swallowed hard. He hadn't been in a gym since… well, gym class. Henry thought about his school gym class. Mr. Martin, the hilarious teacher and track coach, had really pushed people during weight training, and he shuddered at the memory. Once, he had dropped a weight on his foot, and ended up with a boot for several weeks. During that time, his arm strength improved dramatically—to the point that he could do pull-ups without even thinking about it. Of course, that had all been a year and a half before, during his freshman year. Henry took a deep breath in…

* * *

…and let out a huge sigh of relief when Robin announced it was time to finish. That sigh was in unison with all the Titans, and Henry dropped down from the pull-up bar.

"Dude… what time is it?" asked Beast Boy, breathing hard.

"It's eleven forty-five," Cyborg answered. Henry perked up. He needed to get to the park in forty-five minutes! As Robin complimented everyone on their hard work, Henry beckoned for Cyborg to come over to him. The mechanical man walked over, a towel on his shoulder. "What do you need?" Henry looked around, waiting for the others to leave.

"Listen, Cyborg, I need a favor today," Henry said. "Can you take me somewhere?"

"I don't see why not. Where are you going?" asked Cyborg.

"I'm meeting someone at the park at twelve thirty, and it's very important that I meet her," Henry explained. Cyborg's real eye narrowed. "Trust me, it is. It has to do with that note I got this morning." Cyborg thought over Henry's request.

"I'll take you, but you're gonna have to explain more on the way there. You've been here less than three days, so excuse me if I find it suspicious that you're meeting anybody," Cyborg said bluntly. "It's nothing personal, but you understand me, right?" Henry nodded. "Good. Now, take this, and let's get you in something not soaked in sweat," he said, offering Henry the towel. The boy took it and wiped off his face, and the two left the room. Henry followed Cyborg to his room, passing the time with useless filler conversation. When they got to Cyborg's room, they stopped. "Stay here, I'll be right back." When Cyborg returned, he was holding multiple shirts, shorts, pairs of underwear, and socks. Henry stared at the clothing.

"Why—How… You know, I'm not gonna ask," Henry said, shaking his head. The clothing was covered in _Teen Titans_ -themed designs, with one shirts featuring Cyborg holding out one hand with a thumbs up.

"It's merchandise. The city provides a lot for us, but we don't get everything for free. So, we agree to let someone slap our faces onto shirts, cups, and whatever else, and we get a cut of the profits, along with a couple samples of the wares in case we need them. I almost threw these out last month, too," Cyborg explained. Henry just shook his head slowly.

"Let me guess, you guys to advertisements, too?" he asked in jest, but the look on Cyborg's face told him otherwise. " _Seriously?_ " Cyborg grinned back.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. We're not complete sellouts. Anyway, take some of these, and wear 'em for now. We'll get you something better later, but for now, these will have to do." Henry groaned as he took the pile of clothing with him into the bathroom.

"Hmmm…." Henry pondered as he looked at the various items of clothing. He noted that only the original five Teen Titans were on anything, and decided that he'd represent each of them with a different article of clothing. The Cyborg T-shirt, the Beast Boy pants, a sock each for Starfire and Raven, and… well, the underwear had Robin's "R" symbol. That counted, right? Luckily, the T-shirt was black, and the pants were an imitation of Beast Boy's uniform (but not spandex, thankfully!), so Henry felt that he wouldn't look _too_ weird. He stepped out of the bathroom and handed what was left back to Cyborg, who was holding back a laugh.

"Nice. You look like one of those super-fans." Henry glared at Cyborg.

"Shut it, Tin Can," Henry mumbled, but Cyborg kept grinning.

"Oh, I'm calling you Fanboy from now on. C'mon, let's go, _Fanboy_ ," teasesd Cyborg, and the two went back downstairs, the whole time Cyborg hassling Henry about his outfit. As they stepped out of the elevator, Beast Boy noticed Henry's new clothing.

"Dude, nice pants!" the changeling called out. This, in turn, caused the other Titans to look over at what Henry was wearing. In a moment, Henry was surrounded by the Titans.

"I am on your sock!"

"So am I, Starfire. Woop-ee."

"Uh, where am I?" The last question was from Robin. The room fell silent, and Henry looked straight into his eyes. He put a hand on the leader's shoulder, and simply shook his head.

"Robin, ask yourself this: Do you _really_ want to know the answer to that question?" Henry asked. Robin's eyes (rather, the mask _over_ his eyes) grew wide.

"Umm… Tell me: is it my face, or my R?" Robin asked, suddenly realizing what Henry meant.

"There's a kind that has your face?" countered Henry.

"Let's stop talking about this, for everyone's sake," Robin suggested, and everyone readily agreed. The teen heroes then went off to continue doing what they were doing beforehand. At around 12:15, Cyborg stood up.

"Hey, Henry. Time to go." Henry stood up as well.

"Sorry Beast Boy, gotta go," he apologized.

"Dude, where are you going?" asked Beast Boy. Henry struggled to think of an excuse.

"Um, we're grabbing lunch. Want us to get something for you while we're out?" the dimensionally-dislocated teen asked.

"Well, if you're offering…" started Beast Boy. "Grab a couple packs of tofu dogs if you could. And more buns, too."

"Sure thing. Anyone else need anything while we're gone?" Henry asked aloud, walking towards Cyborg.

"I would like more mustard, please!" Starfire called out.

"Hair gel—Cyborg knows what kind," Robin added. He looked at Cyborg, questioningly. The robotic teen mouthed back to him _I'll message you later_. Robin nodded, indicating that he understood. Without any further delays, Henry and Cyborg took the elevator, this time to the garage. When the doors opened, Henry was blown away. There, in front of him, was the one and only T-Car. It shone in the light of the garage, its white and blue design somehow even cooler in person than it had in the show. Henry walked over to it slowly, as if intimidated. Cyborg grinned as Henry reached a hand out tentatively to touch it.

"That's my baby. Isn't she a beauty?" he asked proudly. Henry didn't answer—and that was all Cyborg needed to hear. It wasn't often that someone actually respected the T-Car, and he was going to relish this opportunity to brag about. "I built her from scratch. She's powered by a one hundred thousand horsepower plasma turbine engine [2], and has all _sorts_ of awesome upgrades, one of which I'm about to show you. Get in." Henry quickly walked to the passenger side, and pulled open the door. Henry looked over the inside of the T-Car, and found that it was… surprisingly plain. There wasn't anything fancy that he hadn't seen before. As Cyborg got in the T-Car, he pressed a button on the steering wheel, and the wall in front of them began to rise, revealing the sparkling blue that was Dockett Bay. Beyond that, the buildings that made up the Jump City skyline towered, dwarfed only by relative size of Titans Tower itself. Cyborg strapped in his seatbelt, and suggested that Henry do the same. Meanwhile, Cyborg activated a switch that opened a small port under his feet, and motioned for Henry to look. "By putting my feet _here_ ," Cyborg explained as two straps tightened themselves around the bionic teen, "I can directly connect with the interface of the car. Basically, _I am the car right now_."

"…whoa…" was all Henry could manage. By now, the wall in front of them had been moved completely, and Cyborg positioned the car to be in line with the path that lead up to the garage. Just towards the end of the island, something moved. What was it?

"Hold on to something, and try not to throw up in my baby," Cyborg instructed.

"What?" Henry asked, but was immediately thrown back into his seat as the T-Car suddenly accelerated towards the bay. Henry felt immense pressure on the front of his body, and promptly let out a scream that Cyborg wished he would have recorded. For "research" purposes, of course. "CYBORG WHAT THE HELL WE'RE GONNA GO INTO THE WATER AHH!" The Cyborg merely relaxed as the T-Car continued to speed towards the water. If Henry's eyes had been open, he would have noticed that the thing moving on the end of the island was actually a ramp that had expanded out, and that it was also directly in their path. As it was, Henry's eyes were shut, and his mouth open, still screaming. "CYBORG WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Henry yelled. The T-Car shuddered as it passed over the ramp, and Henry felt as though the world was ending. As the T-Car began soaring over the water, Cyborg pressed a button on a control panel, and the vehicles' wheels began to rotate 90 degrees. When Henry realized that he wasn't dead or in the water, he dared to open his eyes, the pressure no longer so forceful. Looking out his window, he saw that they were "driving" over the water. Cyborg noticed this, and took a moment to brag.

"Hover jets in the wheels [3]," Cyborg said simply. "Designed, built, and installed single-handedly by yours truly." Henry looked back at Cyborg.

"Umm… Cool," was how Henry responded. All he knew was that Cyborg was getting a smack upside his head as soon as they got to the park.

"So, Henry," Cyborg continued, changing the subject. "I need to ask you something, and I need you to be straight with me: who are you going to meet with?" As Cyborg asked, the T-Car began to slow, and the beach which has once been a dot in the distance was now growing larger rather quickly. Cyborg casually touched his arm, appearing to run a diagnostic on the car's performance. In reality, he began recording his conversation with Henry.

"Well, uh, I can't tell you right now. You'd never believe me, and if you did, I don't know how you'd react," Henry answered, seemingly cryptic.

"So, I'm taking you to meet some mysterious chick who I don't know who it is, and I'd probably freak out if I saw. Am I right about this?" Cyborg asked.

"Correct, although I can tell you this: it's related to the note I found this morning." This caught Cyborg off guard.

"How so?"

"Well, it said something about gathering allies. Hopefully, this is one of them." Henry's answer still didn't explain anything, and Cyborg continued to fish for more info.

"Let me get this straight. You, someone who didn't exist until three days ago and knows hardly anything about anyone or anywhere in Jump City, have already potentially made connections who can help us with this upcoming threat. Is that what you're telling me?" asked the cyborg, his voice laced with a hint of sarcasm.

"Look, Cyborg you have to trust me on this one. If anything happens, you know Robin and the others will take me down," Henry replied, turning to face away from Cyborg. The conversation ended there, a strange silence filling the car. By this point, the T-Car had transitioned back to the land, and was driving normally amongst the normal cars in traffic. Stopping at a red light, Cyborg sent the recording to Robin, who received it moments later. By the time Henry and Cyborg reached the park, Robin had responded.

Back in Titans Tower, Robin sat in his room, listening to the sound coming from his communicator. Robin thought for a moment, then closed his eyes. He imagined Raven, focused on talking to her, and thought hard. _Raven. Meet me in my room. Mission._ After that, he held a hand to his head, as a pain surged in his skull. Ever since Raven had entered his mind, the two had shared a tight bond—and it extended to more than friendship. Robin had also formed a weak mental link with Raven, and although it was very difficult, and mostly painful, the masked teen could occasionally send short messages to Raven telepathically. He only ever used such a means of communication whenever silence was important, or if there was no other way to talk. However, Robin ignored the hammering as Raven stepped out of a dark portal that appeared on his wall.

"What's so important that you needed to pain yourself to talk to me?" asked Raven, stepping towards Robin. She placed a hand on his skull, chanted her incantation softly, and the hammering stopped.

"Thank you, Raven. Now, I need you to listen to this," Robin explained, and played the recording that Cyborg had sent him. Raven listened intensely, and when Robin closed his communicator, pulled up her hood. "I need you to head out to the park, and—"

"Spy?" Raven interrupted, crossing her arms.

"It's not _spying_ , it's… keeping tabs on things, that's all. I need someone to be there in case this 'ally' ends up being a threat," Robin counted. Raven began to protest, but Robin held up his hand. "No arguing. I need you to do this, Raven, and you're the only one here who can get their and back without being noticed. Besides, Beast Boy and Starfire have already taken a liking to Henry, and I don't need them accidentally interfering."

"You don't trust them?" Raven asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Of course I do, I just need stealth on this. Please, don't argue with me on this one," Robin said, standing up.

"Fine." With that, Raven disappeared.

Henry and Cyborg stepped out of the T-Car, and proceeded to walk to the pond. In the distance, sitting on a bench near the statue, was a blonde girl facing away from them. Cyborg zoomed in using his robotic eye, but couldn't detect anything that would give the girl's identity away.

"There she is," Henry whispered as they grew closer. "Promise me that you won't freak out or anything." _This is it_ , Henry thought, his heart racing. After what seemed like ages, he was within earshot of the girl. "Hey, Tara, I'm here," he called out. Meanwhile, Cyborg began a visual recording of the situation, and prepared to send a live feed to Robin.

"About time, too," the girl replied, standing up to face Henry. "I've been here for ten minutes, and if you hadn't shown up in another five, I would have—" she continued, but stopped when she saw Cyborg. The half-machine teen froze in his tracks as well, and stopped the recording. His mind seemed to freeze as well, unable to register the fact that Terra was in front of him. It took five seconds before anyone could react.

"Cy?" asked Terra, in complete shock.

"Terra?" Cyborg asked, dumbfounded. After another moment of silence, Cyborg ran at Terra, and pulled her into a bear hug. "It's so good to see you again!" he exclaimed.

"It's good to see you too, but you're crushing me!" Terra coughed out, and was immediately set down.

"I'm sorry, I'm just… I can't believe you're alive!" Cyborg looked at Terra in disbelief. It wasn't possible… so how was it that she was there, standing in front of him? He knew that he didn't need an analysis to check whether or not it was her. In his heart, Cyborg _knew_ it was her.

"Beats bein' a statue," Terra quipped, her own heart pounding. "Henry, you didn't say Cyborg would be here." At this, Henry rubbed his arm.

"Well, I needed a ride, and I figured you didn't want to see Robin on your first day seeing everyone," Henry admitted.

"Terra, how did you survive? You were solid stone! Nothing Raven or I did worked!" Cyborg asked, breathing heavy.

"Honestly? I don't know," the blonde replied. "All I remember is stopping the volcano, then being surrounded… and then I woke up. I didn't know where I was, or even _who_ I was at first. I was still wearing that awful suit _HE_ forced on me," she continued, shaking from the memory. "Turns out the suit had begun physically attaching itself to me. I had to rip it out in order to remove it. I left the cave, bleeding and half naked, and passed out near the street. I guess somebody found me, because I woke up in the hospital with all sorts of doctors hovering over me."

"Terra, oh my goodness…" was all Cyborg could offer, and Henry simply remained mute.

"Nobody knew who I was, so when I was okay enough to be released, they took me to some foster home, and that's where I've been for the last few months." The three stayed silent, Terra's story sinking in. Henry realized that for the other two, this was an intense moment. They hadn't seen each other for over a year and a half, and the Titans all thought her to be dead.

"So, Terra…" Cyborg began, breaking the silence. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm living as normal a life as I can. Well, I _was_ until Henry showed up out of the blue," Terra answered, eyeing Henry. "Hey, that reminds me! I want answers about how you knew about me. Now," demanded the geomancer. Henry shrugged.

"Well, it's probably the craziest thing you've ever heard," Henry said casually.

"Try me," challenged the girl, and Henry proceeded to explain how he had managed to find his way into Jump City. The longer Henry talked, the larger Terra's eyes grew, and the farther her jaw dropped.

"…and so I woke up in the infirmary, and that's that," Henry concluded, although he felt odd. It was although he had just summarized about five chapters worth of exposition, yet it had passed by faster than one would skip over a line break.

"That is the _craziest_ thing I've ever heard!" Terra exclaimed. The girl was simply amazed. Cyborg had agreed several times with Henry over the events, and if Cyborg said it was true, then it must have been true. "I… I can't take this. This… this is nuts! Alternate universes, a TV show… what even is this 'Ellimist' you mentioned?" Henry shook his head.

"None of us know. All I _do_ know is that he is powerful enough to rip me from my world and literally drop me into yours, and at the same time give me powers." Henry paused, and Cyborg noticed a look of indecision on his face. "But that's not what is important right now. What _is_ important is you. Cyborg, I don't know about you, but I feel that Terra deserves to be back on the team."

"What!?" Terra and Cyborg replied in unison.

"Henry, this isn't the time or place to discuss this, least of all without Robin," Cyborg stated clearly.

"Then let's go talk to him about it right now. Terra, let's go," Henry said, turning to walk back to the T-Car.

"No." Henry stopped, and turned around. He hadn't expected Terra to argue this point.

"No? Why?" asked the confused boy. He was only trying to help! Why wouldn't she let him?

"Because maybe I _shouldn't_ be back on the team. Did you ever think of that? Henry, I _died_ , and got a second chance at life. As much as I _want_ to come back, I can't! I ruined everything before. I betrayed them, and almost got them killed. I almost destroyed the entire city!" Terra's voice strained, and her eyes began to get wet. "I did terrible things. I served a dark master, and I regret it all. _All_ of it. Everything would have been better if they had never met me." Terra was now almost in tears, but Henry wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

"Terra, they have _forgiven_ you. All of them, even Raven. And they were all upset over your death," Henry professed. "And of all of them, do you know who missed you the most? Beast Boy." Henry looked Terra in her eyes and held her gaze. "He always went down to see you. Every week, more than once, made an effort to go down and visit you. And if he couldn't do that, he went into your room. I know this because he talked to me about it. He has been more distraught over your death than you think. Even now it weighs on him. Don't you think he'd be overjoyed to have you back?" Henry was now pleading to Terra, and had moved close to her. " _Please_ , Terra. The Titans _need_ you. There's danger coming, and we're going to need all the help we can get." Terra merely stood silently. Cyborg, taking in everything, began his own speech.

"Henry's right, Terra. Grass Stain has been off ever since we lost you. It really did hit him the hardest. I've since accepted your death, but knowing that you're alive? How could I stand to let my little sister settle for normal, knowing that you can do so much more?" Now Terra looked at Cyborg, and even with a missing eye, Cyborg managed to look sad. "It might take some time to get used to having you around again, but damn if I won't try to have you back with us. And it ain't just BB who missed you. Starfire was a wreck for the next month. I had trouble powering down at night. Even our resident birds were off for a few weeks. Your death affected all of us, and I, at least, would love to have you back." Terra couldn't take any more, and began to actively cry. Cyborg stepped in, and Henry backed off. "Don't you cry on me, little lady. I am glad that we met you, Terra, for better or worse. And I know that most of us feel the same way. Just because you haven't forgiven yourself doesn't mean we haven't. Believe me when I say that we would _all_ be honored to have you back."

* * *

Raven watched on at the scene unfolding from halfway across the park. From this distance, she could _feel_ the intense emotions given off from Terra and Cyborg. The two were both emanating sadness and rejoice, which was to be expected. Henry, however, was giving off something else, and this troubled Raven. Why was he so concerned about getting Terra—who was still alive, a fact that Raven had trouble swallowing at first—back on the team? Why had he brought her back? Surely he had no stake in her future… so why? The pride coming from him was almost overpowering. For whatever reason, reuniting Terra with Cyborg was important to Henry, and Raven couldn't make out why. She had, of course, heard every word of the conversation—Robin had some "not spy" gadgets he had lent to Raven. The one in use involved headphones and a handheld radar gun-like device. Hidden in the shadows of some bushes, Raven went unnoticed by most everyone in the park. Only a single creature, tall and dark, hid amongst the shadows as well, its long legs blending in with row of hedges that ran through the park. It watched as Raven spied, and in a matter of moments, sauntered off silently, its prey never knowing that it had been stalked.

Raven continued to watch, but all of a sudden, her signal stopped. The voices stopped, and she took off the equipment to examine it. Maybe something had broken? No, that wasn't it. Raven looked over the spying tools for several moments before realizing that something else was afoot. The large emotional output from Henry, Cyborg, and Terra was gone. In fact, _all_ emotions from people in the park were blank. Raven stood up, calling out. Nobody responded. Shortly, she realized that nobody was _moving_. It was if time had frozen itself…

 **EXCELLENT DEDUCTION, RAVEN** , a voice boomed. It was calm, and seemed peaceful.

"Who's there?" Raven asked, arming herself with two orbs of black energy.

 **CALM YOURSELF, CHILD, FOR I AM THE ELLIMIST,** the voice continued. **I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME, SO LISTEN AND DO NOT INTERRUPT. IT IS IMPERATIVE TO THE FUTURE OF YOUR WORLD THAT YOU DO NOT INTERFERE WITH HENRY'S PLANS CONCERNING TERRA. WHATEVER LIE YOU TELL TO ROBIN, HE WILL BELIEVE.** Raven stood speechless. The Ellimist? The same one that had— **THE ONE AND THE SAME. I MUST GO NOW. DO NOT SPEAK A WORD OF THIS TO ANYONE. NOT YET, ANYWAY. FAIRWELL, RAVEN.** And as if nothing had happened, the world picked off where it left off. Raven stood confused for several moments, contemplating what had just happened. Deciding that it was in her best interest to head back to her room to see if she could learn anything about this "Ellimist," Raven opened a portal on the ground, and disappeared into it.

In the end, after wiping away tears and confirming friendships, Cyborg had agreed to bring up Terra with Robin during the week. Terra had given her personal cell number to Cyborg, who had configured her phone to be able to receive transmission from a T-Communicator. After one last round of hugging, Terra walked away, standing taller than normal. Henry and Cyborg watched as she did, and smiled.

* * *

"Thank you, Henry," Cyborg said once she was out of sight. "I can't believe she's alive."

"Neither can I," agreed the shorter teen. "So, do you think Bird Brain will let her join." Cyborg's face fell as he replied.

"I don't know, Fanboy. I don't know… C'mon, let's go get what we said we would get," said the cyborg, smiling again, walking to the T-Car.

"Crap, I would have forgotten. I'm glad we keep you around, Cy."

* * *

In a hidden part of Jump City, three green, slimy creatures were working on a mechanical suit. The suit in question belonged to Adonis, and it was currently being upgraded beyond that villain's wildest dreams. Weapons systems were being installed—the filthy Titans would never see it coming! _Not that_ Raven _is filthy…_ thought Adonis. He had watched in amazement at how the slimy workers had disassembled his suit, cleaned it, and were improving it. At the same time, similar work was being done on Control Freak's remote control and Gizmo's backback. The three villains were initially against the idea of any "crud-monkey" (as Gizmo so eloquently put it) touching their items. However, Lord Gemlon has assured them that the improvements would allow them to defeat the Teen Tians once and for all.

Adonis walked over to Gemlon, who was overseeing his minions to ensure their success. The man looked at Adonis with empty eyes, something that hadn't ceased to weird him out since he was  
"employed" by the strange villain. The green hood on the back seemed to be controlling Gemlon, but as it was, the face in front of it smiled.

"Adonis, I trust that you are pleased with the job my workers have done?" asked Gemlon, her voice grating.

"Of course, Master. I came to ask about something else," Adonis replied, somewhat nervous. "After we defeat the Titans, we still get to do what we want with them, right?" Control Freak and Gizmo, caught up in some conversation about both detesting _Twisted Wheels 2_ , had walked in from the main room in Gemlon's lair. They joined Adonis and Gemlon, who was now grinning evilly.

"Of course, my friends. Your hard work will not go unrewarded." Control Freak was giddy.

"Oh, maybe now Starfire will realize that _I'm_ so much better for her than that traffic light Robin!" mused the redhead, prompting the other three to ignore him.

"Hacking Cyborg will be the best thing to happen to me since the HIVE Five broke down!" Gizmo cheered in his nasally voice. Adonis towered over the tiny villain, and scoffed.

"And I will still have Raven, correct?" asked the un-armored villain. Gemlon placed a hand on Adonis' shoulder.

"Once I am done with the Gem of Trigon, you may do with her as you wish. As for the other two Titans, I feel as though I may need a few test subjects, and they would make fine specimens, would you agree, gentlemen?" Gemlon laughed at his own words, and the other three laughed unwillingly.

"Yes, Master," they agreed in unison.

"Now, I will suggest that you prepare yourselves. We have work to do today, and I will not tolerate failure. Now go, I have other matters to deal with." Control Freak, Gizmo, and Adonis were dismissed, and left. Gemlon turned to face the being that had silently crept in, and spoke.

"Lord Gemlon, you are correct. The Gem is as clueless as you would have thought," said the creature addressed as Drode. Gemlon brought his hands together.

"Excellent. Soon we will be one step closer to summoning your master, and I will be ruler of this pathetic world. Perhaps I'll come up with something to do to them, instead of killing them all. Maybe I'll force their children to fight each other to the death, until one remains. Yes, and all people shall watch it! [4]" Gemlon rattled off, considering other ideas."

"Yes, Master," the Drode mocked under his breath. His master would soon be here, and perhaps he would allow Drode the pleasure of being the one to kill Gemlon. That, however, would have to wait, as Gemlon called for him to do some tedious task. _Soon_ , thought the Drode. _Soon_..

* * *

 **[1] "Safety Dance" is the song that was playing. I'd recommend a listen if you get the time.**

 **[2] This fact is taken directly from the Teen Titans wikia page (a very good friend to me while I write this story!) so if you don't believe it, sorry. It's canon, and so help me I will use it.**

 **[3] Also from the Wikia page. I wouldn't make this stuff up, although it does raise the question of how the Titans drove the T-Car in town if they live** _ **on a freaking island.**_

 **[4] If you didn't know this was a Hunger Games reference, shame on you, unless you've never seen/read them.**

* * *

 **And that's this chapter! It's a little shorter than I would have liked, but to be honest, I'm surprised I can get it out today. I did a lot of labor in the sun and heat, and I actually took a nap, which I normally don't do. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Special shout-out to reviewer Holly Sophia, who is the author of a great little story called "Shelter." It's description is: "When Beast Boy rescues a man with a link to an old friend, the world he thought he knew suddenly changes." It's only three chapters long right now, but it's is very good, and deserves a lot more love than what it's currently receiving. So go on over and read it, because you deserve a good story, and a good story deserves you, readers.**

 **Thanks to raven 2012 for all the ideas they have provided to me via PM. Some suggestions will be directly going into the story, and I am thankful for the help. Remember, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, or anything to say, PM me or leave a review. Constructive criticism is always welcome, as long as you're not rude about it. Thank you so much for your time, and I will see you sometime soon! Bye everyone, and I hope you have/had a fan-freaking-tastic day!**

— **Cortexin**


	7. You Win Some, You Lose Some

Raven reappeared in the tower just outside of Robin's room, and knocked on the door. Why didn't she just appear in his room? Long ago Robin had made it clear that nobody was to enter his room without knocking, barring emergencies or special situations. Robin mentally calling Raven was one such occasion. Besides, Robin was, at heart, a teenage boy who was often stressed by his lifestyle, and Raven had on more than one occasion sensed certain vibes coming from his room that she did not exactly want to think about ever again. The room's resident interrupted the chapter's introduction by opening the door.

"Come in," he instructed, and Raven stepped in. Immediately, she dropped the equipment that "wasn't" for spying to the ground.

"This was a waste of my time," Raven said with false anger. "Whoever Henry was going to see was a no-show." Raven held her breath—would Robin accept the lie? And what would Cyborg and Henry say to him? Azar help her, why was she _nervous_ about a simple untruth? Sure, it was probably a really bad idea to lie to Robin. _But if this "Ellimist" cares about Terra so much to pause time and tell me to hide her existence from Robin, I'm sure there's a reason_ , Raven reasoned with herself. "I'm leaving, there are things I need to do that don't involve _spying_ on our friends." Before Robin could argue, the mage turned and left the room, her cloak hitting Robin's outstretched hand.

"Raven!" he called out for her, but was only answered with the slam of his door. Robin stormed back to his desk, and pulled out the chair angrily. He sat down, only to hear the Tower's alarms go off. _Trouble_ , he thought automatically, and jumped out of his seat. The Boy Wonder ran out into the Ops Room, meeting up with Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven. Red lights flashed as he approached the screen. The map of Jump City was once again displayed on the massive screen in the room, and it indicated that an attack was underway on several office buildings on the west end of the city's commercial district. A box of scrolling text gave information regarding the attack, and one word stood out above all the others.

"Adonis," Beast Boy growled, arching his brow. "I really hate that dude. Why can't he just stay in jail?" The large window facing the city opened up, and before Robin could instruct them, a green pteranodon was soaring over Dockett Bay. The other three Titans stood silently for a moment, startled by the changeling's sudden enthusiasm to get to a crime scene. Finally, Robin gave the command to go, and off they went.

The three other Titans trailed Beast Boy, and landed to find him charging in the form of a rhinoceros at the metal-suited villain. Adonis held a piece of what looked like computer machinery above his left shoulder, and laughed as he held out his other hand to stop the green pachyderm. To the shock of Robin, Raven, and Starfire, Adonis didn't even flinch as Beast Boy collided with his mechanical suit's hand. Beast Boy collapsed at the impact, and turned back into his human form.

"Oh, now _this_ is precious," mocked Adonis, grabbing the still changeling by his neck. "Did you really think you could stop Adonis? Ha!" Before he could continue, a black disc of energy smacked into his face, and the armored Adonis grimaced. He turned to face Raven, and grinned.

"Put him _down_ , Adonis," Raven commanded, raising a glowing hand.

"Aw, are you worried about this little runt, baby? Don't be," Adonis said smoothly, tossing the green teen aside. "He's not a real man like me. Why don't you and I go somewhere together sometime? Let me take you out some night so I can show you what a real man is like," he purred. Disgusted, Ravens' eyes began to glow.

"The only time anyone is taking anyone anywhere is us taking you to jail," Robin replied coolly. "Titans, go!" he instructed. Raven and Starfire flew at Adonis while Robin ran towards Beast Boy, who was just starting to move again. Robin dropped to the ground and held up Beast Boy's head. "Beast Boy, are you alright?" Robin asked quickly, unusual concern in his voice. The boy in his arms coughed, then tried to sit upright.

"Course I am. It'll take more than that jerk to put me out of the fight," answered Beast Boy, flashing a toothy grin. "Now c'mon, let's kick his butt." He stumbled as he rose, and Robin instinctively grabbed his teammate to prevent him from falling. It took a moment, but the changeling caught his balance, and with a silent look, the two ran together towards Adonis, who had been distracted by Starfire and Raven. The two female Titans had launched a flurry of projectile attacks that kept their masculine enemy on his toes.

As Robin approached the enemy, he noticed that Adonis' suit looked different. It was still his classic red-and-gray color, but the suit itself looked more massive, more bulky. It was almost as if there was more of the suit. Robin would have pondered what that meant, but unfortunately, he didn't have to. In an instant, a previously unseen contraption on the back of his suit whipped open, revealing a mechanical extension of some sort that resembled a large metal spider's leg. It rose from Adonis' shoulder impossibly fast, and in a terrifying moment, connected with Starfire's side as she flew past. The alien princess was sent careening to the ground, breaking the road as she slid along it.

"Starfire!" Robin cried out with equal parts fear and anger. He pulled out his bo staff and used it vault himself into the air towards Adonis, let out an intelligible shout. He raised the staff above his head, determined to swing it down onto the villain's face, but was stopped by a large mechanical hand.

"Ah-ah-ah," taunted the smiling Adonis, and tossed Robin into the air, straight into Raven's flight path. The two heroes tumbled to the ground. Luckily for Robin, Raven broke his fall… by acting as an unwilling cushion. Both let out an _oomph_ as they hit the ground, and Robin looked over to see Beast Boy, in the form of a tiger, being manhandled like so much dead weight. He watched helplessly as Adonis threw the big cat at Starfire, who had just started to stand up, and could only reach out his hand in desperation as Beast Boy barely turned back into himself before toppling her to the ground. Adonis laughed as the four Titans rose, each holding an injured body part.

"Ahahaha! This is priceless! You puny Titans are even _more_ wimpy than the last time we fought. How pathetic!" Adonis grinned as he picked up the strange machinery again, having put it down to deal with Raven and Starfire. "It's been fun, but I have to go now. See you real soon, Titans!" he said victoriously, and pressed a large red gem on the front of his suit. A bright red flash forced the Titans to avert their eyes, and when they could see again. Adonis and whatever he had with him were gone without a trace. Defeated and sore, the four Titans gathered together just as a familiar blue-and-white car pulled in, its tires squealing as it approached them. Cyborg and Henry jumped out of the front seats and ran over.

"Guys, what happened?" Cyborg asked worriedly, concern on his face. Beast Boy coughed.

"Adonis happened, that's what," the green teen answered. "He had a new suit that kicked our butts hard."

"Cyborg, where _were_ you?" Robin asked with a stern tone.

"Henry and I were out. I only got the alert a few minutes ago, and we got here as fast as we could," Cyborg explained. Henry looked out over the Titans and knit his brow.

"Adonis did this to you?" he inquired. "And so fast?" This puzzled the teen.

"I told you, new suit," Beast Boy fired back, sounding defensive. "I don't know where he got it, all I know is that I'm gonna tear him a new one if he—"

"Beast Boy, that's enough," Raven interrupted. "Getting angry about it won't do anyone any good. Let's just get back home and go over what happened.

As the Titans treated their injuries, Henry found himself alone in the large Ops room. He looked through his phone aimlessly, noting things that were different since he'd received it. Some things, like his music and pictures, had remained untouched, but websites like Facebook and Twitter failed to connect to their respective servers. _At least I can still use the internet_ , Henry thought positively. He examined news websites, noting their similarities to real-world news. He found it interesting that the one that reminded him of NBC used multicolored symbols in their logo, and that the Fox analogue used a similar font style. His comparison thought process was interrupted by a voice.

"Henry." It was Raven, speaking in her soft monotone. He looked up at her from his position on the couch, noticing that her hood was up, hiding her face. "We need to have a little chat, you and I." Before he could say anything, Raven opened a dark portal beneath her and pulled Henry into it with her. A sudden feeling of cold swept over him, and he shuddered once as they reappeared. He fell onto his behind as they came out of the portal, and quickly stood up. He saw Jump City in the distance, and the Pacific Ocean (or whatever they called it here) in the spanning in the opposite direction. He would have been in awe if Raven hadn't interrupted his admiration of the world around him.

"Let's be honest with each other. I saw you and Cyborg in the park today. Don't ask why. All I know is that you and Cyborg were talking to someone who looked an awful lot like Terra, and I planned on interrupting. But before I could, some voice starts talking to me, calling itself 'the Ellimist.' I've never seen or heard that name, ever, and somehow this Ellimist is involving itself with you. I don't like it one bit, so if you're here do anything that hurts me, my friends, or this city, let me tell right now that it will not work, understand?" With only her eyes visible from within her hood, Raven looked threatening. Henry gulped, knees shaking. He knew very well that Raven could be scary when she wanted to, and although they were standing in broad daylight, he felt very small around the empath.

"Raven, you have to believe me, I am not here to do anything malicious. I don't even know _why_ I'm here," Henry answered. "You guys were my absolute favorite characters growing up, and now that I'm here, seeing you in the flesh and blood… it's overwhelming. Why would I want to do anything to you?" he asked, feeling good about his reply. Raven only shook her head.

"I don't care about being your 'favorite characters' growing up. That doesn't matter. Here, in this world, our world, we are very real. We all have lives, real, actual lives, and honestly, I don't appreciate being considered a two-dimensional being that exists for your childish amusement. I have a history, I've lost people, I've hurt people, and I've made friends. All of it is very, very real, and you would do well not to belittle it." As she had ranted, Raven had prod her finger into Henry's chest. In her excitement, Raven's hood had come down, and for a moment, Henry just stared at her. After regaining his composure, Henry responded.

"I know that. I'm sorry if I seem like I don't, but this is all a big shock for me. It doesn't help that my family thinks I'm going to be comatose for the rest of my life. I'm in a very weird place both physically and mentally right now, so excuse me if I seem rude. I also have cryptic instructions from the Ellimist warning about some threat, and that I need to help you gather allies. _That's_ why we met with Terra. We're going to need her, whether you like it or not."

Raven stayed silent, removing her finger from his chest. She thought over Henry's words. A threat? Need Terra? She would have to look into it. For now, she would deal with Henry.

"Fine. If you trust this Ellimist so much, then I will cut both it and you some slack for the time being. But if you do anything that puts my friends in danger… Well, I think you know what I'm capable of." Raven left the last sentence hanging in the air. The two locked eyes, sharing looks of equal intensity. "For now, Henry, you are a guest in my home, and the others seem to like having you around. If things change, I'd like to make sure there's no animosity between us. So, let's be civil to one another." With that, Raven offered her hand out slowly. Henry smiled and accepted it, shaking firmly. Her gray hand felt cool and small in his, and for a single moment, Henry felt as though he belonged. The moment passed, and the two broke the shake. Raven opened one of her portals below her, and they reappeared where they had been earlier. They appeared just in time, too, as the remaining Titans were leaving the infirmary with bandages and gauze visible.

The remainder of the day held a strange air to it. The four Titans who had faced Adonis were more or less recovered (thanks Raven's magic), but still felt embarrassed. It had been a long time since they had suffered a defeat so swiftly, and having lost to Adonis made the defeat all the more painful. Beast Boy had spent an unhealthy amount of time training, and returned to the Ops room with a few rips in his outfit. Henry still donned the silly Teen Titans apparel, and silently wondered about when he would get to trade it for something else. Surely Robin had something he could try on. As night fell, Henry and the five Titans found themselves quietly sitting on the couch. The silence was broken by klaxons going off, and instinctively the Titans rose. The computer screen served its purpose as it always did, and alerted the Titans as to what the issue was.

"The electronics store on Dunder Avenue and Mifflin Boulevard. Titans, go!" Robin commanded without hesitation. Henry, however, did hesitate.

"What about me?" Henry asked, not wanting to be left behind. With no response, Raven merely formed a black disc of energy and once again created a sort of handle for Henry to grab onto. The flight was still unnerving—he was standing on energy, and if he remembered correctly from his fifth grade science class, energy was not matter, which meant that he was standing on nothing. On any other day it would have freaked him out, but the past two days had drastically altered what Henry would consider normal. Henry couldn't believe it; had it really only been two days? _Well, if I count the day I 'died' and later fell to Jump, I guess it's three… which makes today day four?_ Henry wondered. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts, and noticed that Raven was already moving to land. Henry noticed that the others had landed closer to a building whose advertising distinguished it as "Sir Cutt's Discount Circuits." Clearly, this is where the problem was. _What_ the problem was,

"Wait here," Raven instructed as they landed. "Stay out of the way and I'll come back for you when we're done."

"But I can help!" Henry argued, following Raven as she left. She turn to face him, and once again held his gaze.

"You're untrained, and you'll put everyone else at risk."

"But what about yesterday, with those gross green guys? I did pretty good then!" Henry felt confident in his abilities, despite only having had them for a short amount of time.

"No. I don't even know who we're fighting, and I can't let you endanger yourself like that." Just then, the loud whine of the stores speakers pierced through the air, and a familiar voice spoke.

"Greetings, Titans! It is I, your arch-nemesis Control Freak! I have this whole place set to explode, and if any of you even tries to do anything, everything and every _one_ inside will be destroyed! If you don't want that to happen, you have to agree to negotiations!" Raven groaned. Control Freak? She couldn't believe it. How had he escaped from jail this time?

"Raven, we don't have to time to argue. We'll go to the others and plan something." Annoyed, Raven agreed, and the two ran over to the front of the building where the other four were. From their perspective, they couldn't see Control Freak.

"So how do we deal with him if he has hostages?" Cyborg was asking as they joined the group. Robin grimaced.

"I… I don't exactly know. This is unlike him and it's unsettling." Among the Titans and Henry, there was a soft murmur of agreement. "Right now, it looks like we'll just have to see what he wants and try to plan around that." Again, everyone agreed. The teens pulled away, and Robin yelled. "Alright, Control Freak, we'll negotiate! Where and when?" After a few moments of silence, the speakers whined again.

"You need to send someone who isn't a Titan inside to negotiate for you!" Control Freak laughed. It was brilliant, forcing his enemies to beg and plead a civilian for help. Gemlon certainly had great ideas! Not as great his plan for later, but Control Freak couldn't help but feel giddy.

Instantly, all five Titans turned to Henry, who reacted by raising his open palms to the group.

"Whoa, I thought I was 'untrained' and all. Raven, you literally just said I'd put everyone at risk. Now you want me to go in?" Henry asked angrily. Robin stepped towards him and put a hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Henry, I really can't make you, but there are peoples' lives at stake. You have powers, unlike any of them, and you heard Control Freak. He says that the place will explode if any of us tries to do anything. He might be bluffing, but I can't take that risk." Robin's words seemed heartfelt, and for a moment, Henry had a strange feeling of nostalgia. _This_ was the Teen Titans he knew and loved, doing the right thing to protect people. He felt a warmth in his stomach, and looked back to Robin.

"I'll do it," he agreed. Robin smiled, and reached into his belt for something. He pulled out a small earpiece and offered it to Henry.

"Here, wear this. We'll be able to communicate and hear what you two are saying. If you can get him into a position where we can do something, Raven will get us inside and we'll handle him. Just give us a code word," Robin instructed. Henry fit the earpiece into his ear—which wasn't all that pleasant—and thought. After much deliberation, Henry settled for 'fan,' and went in.

Inside the electronics store, Henry noticed something missing: electronics. Whatever Control Freak had done in such a short amount of time, he had gutted the entire place of anything valuable, leaving eerily empty shelves and displays. Behind the counter in the back stood Control Freak, his long red hair looking much weirder in person than it had in the cartoon. Henry was slightly unnerved as he walked towards the villain. As he approached, he noticed the tied-up clerk next to him. The poor man looked like he was in his mid-twenties, with short blonde hair and a blue employee's uniform on. Control Freak looked Henry up and down, until he was only a few yards away.

"So, this is who the Titans sent? Hilarious. Why do you have so much Titans' apparel on?" asked the redhead suspiciously. Henry hesitated, noticing the special remote control in Control Freak's right hand.

"I, uh, I guess I'm just a really big f—err, enthusiast," Henry answered, almost using the code word prematurely. "Lucky me, huh?" he chuckled nervously. Control Freak smiled, causing Henry to grow even more worried.

"Yes… lucky. So, Fanboy, when you go back to the Titans, tell them I want two things: All the computer equipment the city uses, and a date with Starfire." Internally, Henry recoiled. That was just gross to even imagine, and he struggled to keep his cool. Outside, Robin had played the conversation aloud so that all the Titans could hear it. When Control Freak made his demands, Starfire retched and turned away from the group to throw up, and Robin tightly balled his empty fist.

"Uhh… sure," Henry agreed. "But before I go, I have to questions." Control Freak narrowed his eyes.

"I'm feeling generous. Ask them."

"First, why do you want a date with Starfire?" Henry asked, stalling to figure out a way to use the code word.

"I have my personal reasons. Next question," Control freak answered with a straight face.

"Second, may I see your remote? I mean, I like the Titans and all, but I really like your work to. You're really one of Jump City's most dastardly villains." Control Freak perked up at the compliment.

"You think so?" He asked.

"Yeah!" Henry replied with forced enthusiasm. "I mean, really, you're one of the coolest bad guys around! The Titans are old news. Everyone knows them. But you… you're so unknown! Nobody knows much about you, so all we know is what you can do and it's so cool!" At this point Control Freak cautiously put the remote on the counter and slid it over to Henry.

"Ten seconds, because you've told me how the people really feel." Henry quickly picked up the black remote, examining it. He noticed the spiked end, and noticed a small red crystal on the top of the remote. It looked unnatural, as if it didn't belong. In awe for a second, Henry snapped back to reality.

"Wow, the craftsmanship of this is truly amazing! You know, I'm a real _fan_ of anyone who can do anything as impressive as you," Henry hammed, emphasizing the code word. The attentive Titans understood the signal, and Raven opened up a portal underneath of them instantly. Meanwhile, Control Freak beamed, then snatched the remote from Henry.

"That's nice and all, but I need you to go tell the Titans what I want," the redheaded villain demanded. A green glove tapped Control Freak on the shoulder from behind, and he turned to face it.

"The answer is no," Robin said plainly, and struck the large villain. Control Freak flew over the counter and landed in the aisle, next to Henry. He bent down and took Control Freak's remote, grinning. Before he could do anything, Beast Boy transformed into a large green octopus and ensnared the villain, who was grumbling angrily. He opened his eyes to see Cyborg's sonic cannon point straight at him, along with the glowing eyes of Starfire and Raven. The nerd gulped.

"Oh, h-hey g-guys," he laughed nervously, breaking a sweat. "So, Starfire, do you still want to—l" he started, but stopped as the green light from Starfires' eyes glowed brighter. "I-I-I'll take that as a 'no,' then. Too bad," said the villain sadly, dropping his nervous act. He whistled, and a large mechanical being stepped out of the corner of the room, previously unnoticed by the heroes. It charged into Cyborg's side, knocking him into Starfire and Raven. Startled, Cyborg accidently fired his sonic cannon, narrowly missing Beast Boy and Henry. Starfire's starbolts flew past them too, exploding on the other side of the room. The confusion caused the changeling to loosen his grip on Control Freak, who slipped out of the green tentacles. He swiped the remote from the still-shocked Henry, and pressed a button on it.

"So long, Titans! We will meet again, I promise you!" he laughed, and disappeared in a brilliant flash of red light. When they could see again, Control Freak was gone, but his mechanical minion wasn't. Thankfully, it had disoriented itself after attacking Cyborg, and was swiftly defeated by Jump City's heroes. Henry watched as the brief battle finished, and looked around. Where had Control Freak gone? That was the question of the day. With nothing left to do but free the captive employee, the Titans (and Henry) returned to the Tower, having lost a second battle with a minor villain.

* * *

Robin scowled, and slammed his fist onto his desk. Why? Why had they lost twice in one day? It didn't make sense! Sure, they had "off" days sometimes, days where they just didn't click for some odd reason or another. But this wasn't one of them! Something else was afoot. He knew that much, thanks to the fact that both Adonis and Control Freak had suddenly disappeared in a red flash. Robin didn't want to jump to conclusions, especially since neither of the two had worked together previously, but it seemed too much of a coincidence that the two had fought and left in a similar way. Lacking anything further to go on, Robin left his desk, choosing to instead vent his frustration in the training room. It helped him to clear his mind and relax, and losing twice in one day had certainly done a number on the young leader.

In the Ops room, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Henry glumly messed around on the GameStation. Nobody seemed to care too much about the results of the game, which sent warning signs to Henry. However, he lacked anything to do or suggest, and decided that maybe it would be best to just go with the flow this time around.

Starfire was down at the police station, going over the events with the commissioner. Usually, this was Robin's job, but the kindly alien had offered to take over for him so he could work on the current issues. The last Titan, Raven, was in her room, searching through all of her books for any mention of the Ellimist. Like Robin, she too was frustrated, but for a different reason. She was more focused on the _how_ of Henry's arrival, and secondly the _why_. Henry seemed nice enough, but she couldn't help but have a minor nagging in the back of her mind. There was a _je ne sais quoi_ about himthat agitated her, and Azar be damned if she wasn't going to find out! Her search yielded nothing, and in a last resort she retrieved her magic mirror to enter Nevermore.

The yellow-and-pink colors of her mindscape were oddly soothing as usual, but Raven wasn't here for comfort. However, she couldn't help but feel slightly more optimistic. She _was_ in Happy's realm after all, and the area seemed to have that affect. She saw her other selves—Emoticlones, as they had come to call themselves—and walked over. In front of her stood Knowledge in yellow, Timid in gray, Rude in orange, Happy in pink, and Sloth in brown. With them stood a purple-clad version of herself, Passion. Passion had only recently joined the group, after Raven had finally grown to accept that she really did have friend and could trust her teammates. Passion also surfaced when Raven did something she enjoyed, but only barely. Raven was still unsure of this "newcomer" and made every attempt to avoid confrontation. Missing from the group was the green-wearing Brave, who was somewhere else keep tabs on Raven's embodiment of Rage. Spotting the true Raven, Knowledge stepped away from the group.

"You know why I'm here," Raven said bluntly. The glasses-wearing Emoticlone nodded.

"Yes. You need our help to learn more about the Ellimist," Knowledge stated.

"And Henry!" called out Happy, walking over to Raven and Knowledge. Raven rolled her eyes.

"I really don't need this right now," Raven protested, to no avail.

"Awww c'mon Rae, don't tell me he's not cute," teased the happiest of the Emoticlones.

"You say they about every boy we know," replied Raven.

"And he's so mysterious!" said Happy with amazement. She came behind Raven and put a hand on her shoulder, motioning with the other. "Where did he come from? Why is he here? It's so mysterious…" she trailed off.

"And attractive," muttered Passion. Raven pushed Happy off of her, groaning.

"This is why I don't talk to you anymore. Happy, stop talking to Passion, she's a bad influence. Rude, keep those two apart, will you?"

"Nope," came her reply. Raven shook her head.

"Well, this has been a huge waste of my time," she complained. "Thank you Knowledge for being the only sensible person here." With that, Raven reappeared in her bedroom. Frustrated, Raven dropped to the floor and crossed her legs. She closed her eyes and began to repeat her mantra. " _Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos…_ "

* * *

Much later on the other side of Jump City, a blonde teen lay awake in her bed, unable to fall asleep. She looked over at the dim display on the digital clock and silently read it: 11:54. She let out a sigh and sat up, coming to terms with the fact that she wouldn't be sleeping soon. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and walked to her closet. Her heart quickened as she pushed aside few shirts, dresses, and other articles of clothing that she had elected to hang up. She stepped into the closest, trying to get to the very back of it. On old, nondescript plastic hangars hung clothing that she hadn't touched in ages, let along looked at. She looked took a long look at the ripped uniform, and a single tear slid down her cheek as she recalled how important the outfit had once been.

The girl returned to her bed, sitting sadly. Next to her bed was an old nightstand, one of the few things that the foster agency had permitted her to purchase for herself. The girl pulled open the drawer slowly, almost expecting the single item inside to be gone. It wasn't, and she examined it carefully in her hand. No longer functional, the device in her hand was now a memento of times gone by. Its screen was shattered, broken just as much as the polymer cover. Taking a moment to remember once again, the girl put the useless equipment back into its drawer. Only she knew it was there, and if anyone had asked about it, the girl could say it was broken. The only tell-tale feature of the device was the golden letter T on the outside, split right down the middle.

* * *

 **AN:** **It's been quite a while. Too long. I'm so sorry. Life just got in my way, I grew distracted, and my senior year became more important than writing. Life happens and I really do apologize. To anyone who reads this and doesn't understand, it's been just about a year since I've touched this story. I'm trying to do more though, but with college coming up, it won't be frequent. Hopefully there's still a few people who care enough to give me an opinion. As I always have been, I'm open to constructive criticism, advice, suggestion, or general comments. Feel free to PM me about anything if you'd rather, I don't mind at all!**

 **Well, looks like I'm back into this life. I'm glad.**

 **As always, have a fan-freaking-tastic day!**

— **Cortexin**


End file.
